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Jfrom 
incarnation to He-incarnation 



RICHARD INGALESE and ISABELLA INGALESE 




THE OCCULT BOOK CONCERN 

PUBLISHERS 

9 to 15 Murray Street 

New York City 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Twe Cepies Received 

MAR 8 1904 

^ Copyright Efltry 



^ 



0<\ 



\4 



Copyright 1904 
By Richard Ingalese 



Watkins Press 
New York 



i 



TO STUDENTS OF TRUTH EVERYWHERE 



'New occasions teach new duties: Time 

makes ancient good uncouth ; 
They must upward still, and onward, who 

would keep abreast of Truth ; 
Lo, before us gleam her camp-tires ! we 

ourselves must Pilgrims be, 
Launch our May£ower, and steer boldly 

through the desperate winter sea, 
Nor attempt the Future's portals with the 

Past's blood rusted key.' 1 



PREFACE 



In taking up a new study, or in extending an old 
one, a person is frequently confronted with views which 
may not harmonize with his preconceptions. In this 
course of lectures there is much which disagrees with 
the now accepted theological (often mistakenly called 
"religious"), social and scientific opinions and theories. 
A liberal and progressive man, without bias, will exam- 
ine new ideas before passing judgment upon them. 
We therefore expect each student to withhold judg- 
ment until the end of the Course and until he is satis- 
fied that he understands the presentation of the Occult 
Philosophy. 

The Course naturally divides itself into two parts, 
Anthropology and Cosmogony. The former, being 
more within the realm of common knowledge and ex- 
perience, will naturally appeal more quickly to the 
general reader than will the latter. It must be admit- 
ted, however, that modern science is sadly at sea con- 
cerning Cosmogony, since it offers several conflicting 
theories concerning the same. Most religionists have 
abandoned the Cosmogony of Genesis as it is commonly 
interpreted and understood. In the absence, therefore, 
of what the world usually regards as authoritative teach- 



ings on the subject, the Cosmogony of Occultism may 
supply at least a working hypothesis which is both as 
scientific and philosophic as is that offered by either 
modern science or religion. 

To those who can accept the Anthropology herein 
contained, but not the Cosmogony, we — like Galileo, 
who attempted to teach the construction and order of 
the Universe to the learned men of his time — can but 
assert the truth, praying the unconvinced reader, as he 
did the Grand Duke, "to consider it as mere poetry, 
or as a dream; nevertheless, as the poets sometimes 
set value upon their fancies, so I likewise have a certain 
esteem for this my novelty." 

We recommend the student to observe the following 
method of study as far as possible: Read slowly the 
entire lecture and then read all references cited in the 
lecture. Afterward re-read the entire lecture in view 
of such side lights. Divide the lecture into seven or 
several portions, and read one portion each day; and 
meditate upon the portion read. Those who will ob- 
serve this suggestion will find much more in the Course 
than will those who do not. 

This Course is intended to act as a door through 
which the man or mind enters the current of Philo- 
sophic Truth in the Divine Consciousness, which will 
Itself instruct and illumine each individual mind accord- 
ing to its desire and ability to receive enlightenment. 

The citation to pages in "The History and Power of 
Mind" refer to the paging of the second edition. By 



adding (i) to the pages cited between 31 and 119 
inclusive, and (2) to all pages between 120 and 284 
inclusive, the same reference may be found in the first 
edition. In both editions the paging is the same be- 
tween 1 and 30. 

There is nothing original on the part of the under- 
signed in the Philosophy set forth in this Course. Being 
true, it has always existed. If it appeals to you as true, 
accept it, and if you accept it solemnly resolve to live 
up to it. If it does not appeal to you as true, then 
you at least have the satisfaction of knowing that you 
have become acquainted with the Oldest Philosophy 
in the World, and one which has been handed down 
literally from time immemorial. 

We hold ourselves responsible for the correct pres- 
entation of the Philosophy as it was taught to us, and 
assert that our experiences and observations during a 
long period of study of Occultism — fifteen and thirty 
years respectively — verify its truth. 

R. I. AND I. I. 



February 1st, 1904. 



CONTENTS 

Chapter Page 

Introduction 

I. The Relation of Sex ... 7 

II. Marriage . . . . . .31 

III. Parenthood ..... 59 

IV. Physical and Psychic Development . 89 
V. Mental and Spiritual Development . 117 

VI. Focusing Forces . . . . 141 

VII. Mental Repulsion . . . .167 

VIII. Mental Attraction ... 193 

IX. Death 221 

X. After Death .... 249 



FROM INCARNATION TO RE-INCARNATION. 



LECTURE ONE. 



THE RELATION OF SEX. 

Before the beginning of Cosmic Day, and before 
"God created the heavens and the earth," the Father- 
Mother, the Creating and the Fructifying, the Giving 
and the Receiving, the Positive and Negative, the Male 
and Female aspects of the Universal Principle existed. 

While the darkness of the last Cosmic Night pre- 
vailed throughout the Universe, and while the Elohim 
or Planetary Spirits were sub-consciously resting in the 
bosom of the Infinite, God said : "Let there be light," 
and the Positive Divine Force went instantly forth from 
the great Cosmic Heart into the silent, negative Ether ; 
vibration began, and the first morning of our Cosmic 
Day was born. 1 

When our World was in a subjective, vaporous con- 
dition — an irregular, shapeless mass of burning gases — 
the Universal Principle called forth from the Ether, in 
which all things subjectively reposed, the different ele- 



x The History and Power of Mind, pp. 36-43; 101-105. 



8 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

ments which combined and solidified and produced the 
mineral kingdom of our Earth. And after her creation 
was completed and her orbit in the heavens established, 
for ages she still remained in a negative condition, re- 
ceptive only to the restless, surging Father Force — the 
sea — which covered, magnetized and enriched, and 
made it possible for her to "bring forth" and to bear 
upon her capacious bosom the vegetable and animal 
creations which she had conceived in the darkness and 
the silence. 

Then again was Divine Will put into operation, and 
the waters were "gathered together unto one place," 
in order that the dry land — the Mother Earth — should 
appear and "bring forth." And when she had clothed 
herself in this beautiful verdure she concealed beneath 
her green mantle the precious stones and rich minerals 
which had been created within her in the beginning of 
her existence. But nothing in all the Universe was 
created in vain, and it was not intended by the Uni- 
versal Principle that these mineral riches should be thus 
and forever hidden. They, with all the various fauna 
and flora, were placed in readiness to be made subject 
to the wills of the Sons of God when they should come 
and desire to appropriate them. 

As many more ages as Mother Earth had lain dor- 
mant under the sea did she require to evolve from her 
animal kingdom a form with brain of sufficient vibra- 
tory power to enable it to receive from the Universal 



The Relation of Sex. 9 

Principle the Divine Spark which would lead and en- 
lighten it throughout the ages to come. And when 
this triumph had been gained and this animal man 
stood erect and walked upon two feet instead of four, 
he knew very little about himself and nothing about 
his source. 

But, "One day is with the Lord as a thousand years 
and a thousand years as one day/' and, after what 
would seem to men of the present age as an almost in- 
terminable length of time, the law of Evolution, which 
is God's will operating in every living thing, brought to 
the Earth and to each of her animal men a subjective 
mind or soul to work out a double purpose. 1 

First, to gain for itself greater strength and power 
by contacting with a material world of a lower rate 
of vibration than its own; and, second, to subject and 
raise animal man to a higher point of development. 
When these subjective minds or souls first came to 
Earth they knew nothing of sex or of things sensory 
or sensual. But each had indeed been created in the 
image of God and was a part of the Father-Mother 
Principle; therefore each of these subjective minds pos- 
sessed both a positive and negative side to its nature. 

In the realm where these souls had dwelt before 
coming to earth 2 this complexity in each had caused no 

1 The History and Power of Mind, pp. 64-72. 

"The former as well as the future planetary homes of the soul 
will be discussed in the proposed course "Cosmogony and Evolu- 
tion." 



10 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

inharmonious conditions, since there had been no trials 
to endure and no temptations to resist. Existence 
there had been a blissful, beautiful dream. But when 
these Sons of God came to this world and "saw the 
daughters of men," the animal forms which had been 
raised to receive them for their lords, each soul was 
forced to make its selection, and it was then that the 
sex question with all its ramifications and mystifications 
arose. 

Acting according to its natural tendencies, the posi- 
tive part of each of these subjective minds was attracted 
toward the masculine animal form, while the negative 
part of each mind, by reason of its nature, was attracted 
toward the female animal form. This caused dissen- 
sion, and war was declared in the heaven of each indi- 
vidual soul. Then came the first divorce ever granted 
upon this earth, and God gave one to each of His Sons. 
It came through the Courts of Evolutionary Law, of 
which the divorce courts of the present day are but 
remote ramifications. 

These first divorces, like those of the present day, 
were given for the purpose of permitting each Son of 
God to work out his salvation in his own way ; in other 
words, to give him free will. And since there were 
more animal forms than there were Sons of God to in- 
carnate in them, it was expedient that these incarnating 
souls should divide into halves, each half taking a form 
somewhat in conformity with its own nature ; in order 



The Relation of Sex. 11 

that the new evolutionary scheme should be carried out 
in a shorter time than it had been in former periods. 

When the war of souls was ended and each subjective 
mind or soul had become accustomed to the new order 
of things, it was delighted with its conditions. It found 
the earth a garden filled with flowers and trees, with 
which its taste for the beautiful could be gratified. 
There were also delicious fruits with which its appetite 
could be pleased and satisfied. And there were silver 
and gold and precious stones with which its person and 
its abiding place could be adorned. Everything was 
here that could please the eye and gratify the senses, 
and then to each soul came the desire for individual 
possessions and great accumulation of material things. 

Man's original vibrations began to grow more and 
more gross until the beautiful subjective blue which had 
characterised his innocence deepened into the darkest 
shade of a selfish myrtle green. The animal nature 
which he had espoused and which he came to rule rose 
in its desires and ruled him. He became enveloped in 
the dark red vibrations of its animal passions, and the 
combination of the selfish green vibrations with the 
sexual red drew him into the lowest depths of those 
two currents. 1 He sank lower than the animals be- 
cause he had enough of the Divine Principle within him 
to give him reasoning power, and by aid of this he 



'The History and Power of Mind, pp. 135-136; 228-230. 



12 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

could better accomplish his purposes than could the 
animals. 

This was "The Fall of Man/' "The Original Sin," 
"The Fall from Grace," etc. But Divine Principle 
never goes backward. It is constantly pushing onward 
and upward; and although sometimes, from a narrow 
point of view, it seems that men and things are degen- 
erating and retrograding beyond all hope of recovery, 
still it is only seeming and not real. 

When the subjective man plunged from his realm of 
innocence and inexperience into the experiences of this 
earth, he was negatively good. He had never been 
tempted and had never come into contact with any- 
thing of a lower rate of vibration than his own. He 
was pure because his environment had been pure. He 
was an infant soul entering in upon a new state of 
existence. 

Because he had not experienced it, he did not know 
that indulgences in sexual excesses would ruin his body. 
Neither did he know that his generative organs had 
been made for the purpose of creating new human 
bodies for other souls or egos to incarnate in. 

As it has always been with every race at every great 
period of time since man came to live upon this planet, 
the first egos who came to incarnate were the stronger 
ones, and possessed more persistence and endurance 
than did those who came later. This was a necessity 
in order that each new race should have its pioneers, 



The Relation of Sex. 13 

its strong men to do the heavy work and to prepare the 
way for the weaker ones who must follow after them. 
J^When these pioneer men were struggling to overcome 
the wild beasts of the forests and jungles and to prepare 
places for themselves to live, their forces went into 
physical labor, and they had not the time nor the in- 
clination to yield themselves to sexual excesses, to the 
same extent that those who followed them did. But 
as time passed the weaker souls incarnated in greater 
numbers. And when they could enjoy more comforts 
and luxuries than their progenitors, without the same 
efforts to obtain them, the morals of the peoples be- 
came more and more corrupted; and men and women 
began making the fearful mistake of thinking that their 
generative organs were created for the sole purpose of 
gratifying their own sexual, animal desires, and for the 
amusement and entertainment of their friends. They 
indulged themselves in every sexual excess that the 
human mind could devise until the time came to pay 
the penalty of attempting to break the Law of Being. 
Then men's magnificent physical strength began leav- 
ing them; they grew weak and ill and commenced to 
suffer the pains and aches and diseases which must 
necessarily follow upon those acts which drain the sys- 
tem of its precious, vital creative fluids. 

Then the physical bodies of the offspring began to 
manifest weaknesses inherited from their parents. 
'There were giants in the earth in those days," but 



14 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

gradually the physical stature of the races grew less 
and the "Samsons" were fewer and farther apart, until 
in the course of a great number of re-incarnations or 
generations the original man who had in the beginning 
of his race stood ten or twelve feet in height became 
reduced in stature to six or eight feet and his physical 
strength decreased in proportion. 

But Divine Law never leaves Its children without 
object lessons constantly before their eyes, and if they 
will but take cognizance of those lessons and profit by 
them much suffering for the races would be avoided. 
Around men on every side was operating the law of 
attraction and repulsion ; they saw its effects, but did 
not look for the causes. In their experience with the 
mineral kingdom they learned how to combine such 
minerals as were magnetically attracted toward each 
other and became quite skillful in making for themselves 
ornaments composed of such amalgamations as they 
desired and admired. They knew that the sex principle 
— which is but a higher expression of the law of attrac- 
tion and repulsion — manifested in all organized life; 
and they also knew that there were no sexual excesses 
or abuses committed among the creatures of a lower 
grade of intelligence than themselves. Yet still they 
remained willfully blind to this great truth which 
Divine Law was gradually trying to force upon them 
through suffering: that the relation of sex in the 
human family should not be a promiscuous relation, 



The Relation of Sex. 15 

and that the generative organs of man could not be 
prostituted without dire results to the prostitutor. 

According to the Divine Law, the union of the sexes 
should never take place without the desire of both the 
male and the female who participate in that union ; and 
the desire should never be stimulated by anything but 
by the mutual magnetic attraction of each toward the 
other. Pictures which stimulate the passions, wines, 
liquors, drugs or highly spiced foods which befog the 
brain or produce unnatural and inordinate desires, 
should be abolished from civilized life, because the 
progressing man and woman cannot afford to have 
their development retarded by the use of them. 

During the perfect sex union of normal human 
bodies there is an exchange of magnetic force which 
is strengthening both to the physical bodies and to the 
minds of each. This exchange of magnetic force is 
due to the fact that the generative organs of the male 
and female act upon each other as do the opposite 
poles of an electrical instrument. A perfect circuit is 
made between the two bodies, and at the point of 
direct contact heat, power and life are generated. 
Then the nerves and blood absorb this electric fluid 
which flows from one body to the other and they be- 
come electrified and strengthened; and with an elec- 
trified and strengthened body the mind gains power. 

The primary use, however, of the union of sex is for 
the production of physical bodies for other egos to in- 



16 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

carnate in. It is a sacred privilege to become the 
father and mother of another divine soul's earthly ve- 
hicle, and the generative organs of men and women 
should be kept sacred to the uses for which the Great 
Consciousness intended them. 1 Abuse of these organs 
leads to the degradation of the abuser because it is 
either a conscious or an unconscious blasphemous act 
against the Highest and most Sacred Law of Divine 
Principle. 

For the perpetration of this crime man will continue 
to be punished so long as he continues to transgress, 
and the punishment is of his own creation and he al- 
ways precipitates it upon himself. Prostitution of the 
generative organs of mankind is the most far reaching 
and the most stupendous of all the mistakes he makes. 
It is the most difficult of all to correct because of the 
subtle influences which surround him. The false 
teachings of past ages must be met and overcome ; his 
social environment affects him adversely, as does also 
his belief that the forgiveness of sins will remove the 
consequences of his acts. Then, too, often connubial 
influences are brought to bear upon him which he be- 
lieves he cannot ignore. But the time has come when 
the law must be recognized and obeyed, and a further 
discussion of it will be given in the lectures on "Mar- 
riage" and on "Parenthood." 

There came a time with every race when it was al- 
most impossible to find positive virtue in either sex. 

^he History and Power of Mind, pp. 89-90. 



The Relation of Sex. 17 

If a pure soul came to dwell among those people it re- 
ceived nothing but persecution, abuse and sometimes 
crucifixion, for attempting to live to a higher standard 
of morality than that of his time. And when the races 
became so corrupted that they constantly despised 
purity and loved impurity, then there was nothing that 
Divine Law could do to help their condition but to 
permit a cataclysm or a holocaust to sweep them off 
the earth, in order to begin a new period of evolution. 
When we stand among the ruins of old Nineveh and 
trace the broken outlines of her immense proportions 
and realize that it was only about four thousand years 
ago that she was in the height of her glory, conquering 
and enslaving every other nation and tribe of men who 
dared exist within her mighty reach, we wonder what 
could have brought that great city and the powerful 
nation of which she was the capital to this condition of 
ruin and almost utter oblivion. For it is only by 
studying the now nearly obliterated inscriptions left 
upon her broken pillars and by piecing together her 
ancient tablets that we are able to learn anything about 
her. Among the remains of her once beautiful palaces 
and walls there are still to be found indications of the 
great skill of her workmen ; and since all this is but the 
materialized expression of the power of those ancient 
men's minds, we must acknowledge that in power of 
concentration and creation they were equal if not supe- 
rior to many men of our present day. 



18 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation, 

Where is there to be found anything that our present 
race has created which required the time, the effort and 
the patience to build that the great wall surrounding 
Nineveh required? It stood, a solid piece of masonry, 
fifty feet in thickness, one hundred and fifty feet in 
height, and eight miles in length, and was at once a 
roof garden and a speedway, enclosing an area of one 
thousand and eight hundred acres of land comprising 
the city. It was built to give pleasure to kings and 
princes, who, while testing the speed of their horses 
upon it, enjoyed a fine view of the surrounding coun- 
try; and it also made the city unapproachable and for a 
long time invincible to its enemies who wished to de- 
stroy it. 

Within that great enclosure were palaces of such im- 
mense proportions that the buildings of the present day 
in many respects seem almost insignificant when com- 
pared with them. Not in height, perhaps, did those 
great piles of stone exceed our own, but in depth, 
breadth and thickness. Their massive pillars and stair- 
ways, their entrances, their corridors and their audience 
rooms were built upon a vastly larger scale than any- 
thing the peoples of the present day have yet at- 
tempted. 

But those marble halls where dwelt the kings and 
princes of that remote past are now nothing but huge 
ash heaps. The magnificent apartments where the 
noble lords and ladies of those ancient days were born, 






The Relation of Sex. 19 

grew to manhood and womanhood, danced, sang, told 
tales of love, wooed, wedded and died, are now reduced 
to dust and debris. Not a living thing may be seen in 
all that place of desolation except, perhaps, after night- 
fall, from some crevice or pit the gleaming eyes of a 
wild beast may peer out at the belated traveler; and 
after the sun goes down nothing may be heard to break 
that awful stillness except the growl of a savage brute 
or the call of a night-bird. 

All the mighty men of valor who once lived in that 
now ruined city are gone, and not a descendant is left 
alive to-day to tell the tale of his forefathers' strength 
and power. But there are legends to be found con- 
cerning those Ninevite heroes, and it is through these 
legends we learn that their kings were warlike and 
their conquering soldiery made the earth tremble with 
their tremendous power. The same ferocity which 
they manifested in the pursuit and destruction of wild 
beasts they also exhibited in hunting their fellow men ; 
and the dead of their vanquished foes they contemptu- 
ously trampled into the dust under their horses' feet. 

But when these great wars were ended, by reason of 
the fact that the surrounding nations and tribes which 
were accessible had been conquered and enslaved, the 
Ninevite kings and princes became weary of war and 
began yielding to the sensuousness and sensuality 
which comes to all wealthy and prosperous nations. 
They commenced feasting and dancing, wearing rich 



20 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

garments and fine jewels, and indulging in great sexual 
excesses. The later generations being composed of 
weaker egos, readily and willingly adopted the habits 
of their ancestors, and the progress of the nation 
paused, hesitated for a while, and then began to decline. 

Indolence is the father of voluptuousness, and when 
those ancient men commenced to yield to the seductive 
influence of indolence, their tremendous forces sought 
to find expression through their lusts. They plunged 
into sexual indulgences and excesses with the same 
energy that they had fought battles and built palaces, 
and soon the Assyrian nation reached a point where 
there seemed to be no limitation to its voluptuousness. 
The wives and daughters, the matrons, maids and 
slaves were not able to satisfy the lasciviousness of the 
men, and when the whole nation had become so cor- 
rupted that there was no purity to be found in the 
land, a good man came to one of the great gates of 
Nineveh and commenced to cry against the sin that 
was being committed there. 

In the legend of our Bible this man was a prophet 
i and he was called Jonah, which means "a dove." He 
was a human instrument, a messenger sent to that im- 
moral city to bring the word of warning which Divine 
Mind sent to Its children before permitting their pun- 
ishment to come upon them. This good man came 
to Nineveh eight hundred and sixty years before the 
Nazarine was born, and when he entered the city he 



The Relation of Sex. 21 

cried aloud to the people whom he met upon the streets 
and said: 

"Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown !" 

To this startling prophecy the people of the threat- 
ened city began to listen, and when the king heard it 
he "arose from his throne," and, laying aside his royal 
robes, he "covered himself with sackcloth and ashes," 
and sent forth his proclamation throughout the city 
that men and beasts should be covered with sackcloth; 
and that all men should "cry mightily unto God," and 
that they should "turn every one from his evil way." 

Because of this penitence and temporary reformation 
the cloud of destruction which had been slowly gather- 
ing over the doomed city was lifted and the sentence of 
immediate destruction was commuted. Unknown to 
the people a reprieve of forty years instead of forty 
days was granted them, during which time the nation 
had ample time to permanently reform and save itself 
from downfall. 

But like all unwise peoples who had preceded, and 
like many who have succeeded them, they soon grew 
weary of well doing. Constant prayer and fasting be- 
came monotonous and tiresome, and when the "forty 
days" had passed and there were no visible signs of the 
promised destruction of their city the Ninevites again 
gradually fell back into their old immoral ways of liv- 
ing and Jonah and his prophecy were discredited. 

When the forty years of respite had passed the Great 



22 Prom Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

Consciousness sent another good man to warn the 
Assyrian Nation of its danger, but since the first 
prophecy had not been fulfilled the people did not be- 
lieve in the second, and the last days of Assyria's great- 
ness drew to an end. Then everything seemed to con- 
spire with fate to overthrow the city of Nineveh, and 
when the tramp of the Midian soldiers was heard in 
the streets, the people — many of whom had never be- 
fore seen a foreign foe, except in the position of a 
trembling captive — were seized with a great fear and 
fled in terror from the approaching host. Even the 
king, Saracus, took refuge in his palace and ordered his 
slaves to heap his goods into a funeral pyre for himself 
and for his household; and when the torch was ap- 
plied he covered his face with his mantle and his ashes 
were mingled with the ashes of the great city, where his 
ancestors had ruled and reigned for many generations 
before him. Nineveh was shrouded in everlasting 
night, destroyed by her blasphemous acts against the 
Divine Consciousness of which she was a part. 

With the downfall of Nineveh the Babylonian 
Empire immediately sprang into prominence, and 
very soon became the great power of the Eastern 
World. The men were strong and hardy, with large 
physique, and became the most distinguished mer- 
chants of the age. as their nation continued to prosper 
in material wealth. Babylon became the great me- 
tropolis of Western Asia and the peoples of the old 



The Relation of Sex. 23 

world turned to it for their supplies. Whatever man- 
kind had to sell was offered in her markets, and what- 
ever the world demanded was to be found there. In 
the beginning of the nation's career there was much to 
admire and very little to condemn, but as it grew richer 
and more prosperous and as the weaker egos of the 
older races came to re-incarnate in the Babylonian race, 
avarice and greed for wealth overcame all the higher 
principles of the people and the time came when the 
domestic virtues were recklessly flung away for further 
gratification. It became a law that every Babylonian 
woman once in her life must offer herself to strangers 
publicly before the temple of Beltis in order to attract 
to the city of Babylon the trade of strangers. 

Maidens were sold at auction to wealthy princes and 
libertines who would be thus induced to come to the 
city to spend their money. Both sexes were ready at 
any moment to barter for money the pleasures which 
should be sacred to love, and the prime motive for all 
this was the passion for luxurious living. 
/ Babylon became the earthly paradise for gluttony 
/and lust and whatever ministered to the appetities, and 
I the sensuality of the people was eagerly sought for and 
\enjoyed without scruple. Adornment of the person 
with rich garments and jewels of untold value were per- 
sistently sought for, luxuriant baths and fragrant oils 
for perfuming the body, costly viands and rare foods 
were provided for those who could afford to pay for 



24 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

them. Everything that could excite or appease the 
human desire was demanded, found and wasted in lux- 
urious abandonment. The banquet and feast brought 
drunkenness and revel. The tables were spread with 
food of such richness that no human appetite could 
consume it. Dark wines were drunk from goblets of 
gold. Delicious fruits were piled high upon platters 
of silver ; the palaces became harems and polygamy be- 
came the custom of the whole nation. 

In spite of all their love of luxury the men were fear- 
less soldiers, and it is said that their courage in war was 
equal to their abandonment to pleasure. They were 
nearly always engaged in war with surrounding nations, 
and from the mountains to the gates of Egypt their 
merciless, lascivious soldiery carried the banners of their 
Empire while all other nations cringed before them. 
As a natural consequence their successes made them a 
haughty and an austere people. Pride came with their 
power as avarice had grown with their gain, and lust 
from their lawless indulgences. Babylon sat as a queen 
of the East, and her royal broods of princes and pam- 
ered idlers had nothing to check their selfishness and 
their vanity. 

But notwithstanding all these things, in no country, 
except in Egypt, were the ceremonies of religion more 
carefully observed. Temples rose on every hand. 
Priests engaged in the work peculiar to their supposed 
sacred offices were always to be seen. The dissolute 



The Relation of Sex. 25 

kings were chief worshippers at the holy shrines and 
princes went devoutly to the temples. The seals and 
charms worn by both sexes were embellished with 
some religious device or emblem, and when the feasts 
were spread and the banqueters became uproariously 
drunken over their wines they invariably sang songs in 
honor to their gods. 

At all times these people cultivated a placid external 
manner and prided themselves upon their ability to 
commit the worst outrages with smiling faces. The 
city was laid out in blocks or squares, their buildings 
were three or four stories in height, and altogether 
in many respects New York, Chicago and San Fran- 
cisco of to-day are not very dissimilar to old Babylon 
in her architecture or in her mode of living. 

It is not at all difficult to trace in our "kings of 
finance," our "political bosses," our "rings'" and "ma- 
chines" the same characters who debauched the nation 
and themselves in Babylon. In many of our shop 
women who are expected to entertain traveling sales- 
men and merchants who come to our city to buy goods 
and to otherwise spend their money, we are able to 
trace the same characters who offered themselves to 
strangers before the temple of Beltis. And the men 
and women of fashion who pass their precious time in 
gamming and who have no regard for the sacredness of 
their marriage vows must necessarily have gained their 
proficiency in these matters as far back as the Babylon- 



26 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation, 

ian times. And since so many persons seem to be still 
lacking in a knowledge of the great truth that a pure 
relationship between the sexes must be established on 
earth before our race will reach a higher point of de- 
velopment and before real happiness can be gained, it 
looks as if the people of the present age would have to 
meet the same fate that those of the old world met in 
order that it should learn the lesson God — the Great 
Consciousness — is trying to teach us. 

During the early part of the life of Nebuchadnezzar 
the Babylonian nation reached its zenith of wealth and 
power, and at that time the vices of the people were 
greatest. The king himself set the example of cruelty 
and selfishness to his people, who were delighted to 
follow his leading. Murder and rapine were his chief 
amusements, and the suffering of his victims seemed 
to give him the greatest pleasure. But when well 
advanced in age this great monarch dreamed the 
prophetic dream which foretold his approaching down- 
fall, and from that day his power and the power of the 
nation began to wane. 

When Belshazzar came to the throne the downfall 
of the nation was close at hand. But in his contempt 
for an enemy whom he believed to be powerless to 
harm him, he recklessly gave himself to the enjoyment 
of a great annual festival of the Babylonians. A thou- 
sand nobles were present at the banquet. There was 
splendor within the palace and darkness without, and 



The Relation of Sex. 27 

while the drunken revel was at its height the enemy 
stole like a thief in the night and opened the river 
sluices into the canals and the river began to sink. 
Then there was nothing to prevent the foe from enter- 
ing the gates and the city was at his mercy. The 
drunken Babylonians then received the kind of treat- 
ment that they had given to others in the past. Their 
karma had fallen upon them, and the prophecy of the 
prophet Isaiah was fulfilled: 

"And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of 
Chaldees' excellency shall be as when God overthrew 
Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, 
neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to genera- 
tion, neither shall the Arabian pitch his tent there; 
neither shall the shepherds make their fold there. But 
the wild beasts of the desert shall lie there and their 
houses shall be full of doleful creatures ; and owls shall 
dwell there and satyrs shall dance there." 

And the condition of Babylon is the same that it 
was after, its destruction two thousand years ago. 

The ancient Romans were an improvement upon the 
Babylonians because the experiences the egos had had 
in Babylon previous to their incarnating in Rome had 
taught them something. Monogamy was the law in 
the beginning of the Roman period, and motherhood 
was respected and domestic ties were recognized. 
Roman fathers were less erratic and they actually had 
a parental feeling for their children. They recognized 



28 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

their sons as their rightful heirs and their daughters as 
the prospective matrons of Rome. 

In early times the Roman table was spread in the 
plainest manner and the fare was Spartan-like in its 
simplicity; but about one hundred and seventy years 
before the Nazarene was born they began to import and 
enjoy the gastronomic luxuries of the East. With 
feasting came drinking, and these indulgences con- 
tinued and increased until in a few years the life of 
the wealthy Romans became bestial to a degree never 
before equalled by civilized people. 

As the people of Rome gained wealth they com- 
menced spending it in riotous living, and finally the 
time came when the whole city was a scene of revelry 
and dissipation. To show the development which has 
been made by the incarnating souls of to-day, we may 
compare the Roman amusements and customs with 
those of our own day and age. The disregard of the 
duties and responsibilities of life and the love of amuse- 
ment led the Roman people to accept as their motto 
and demand, "Bread and the circus/' and Rome was as 
well supplied with circuses as New York is supplied 
with theatres. It was "bread and the circus" then for 
all the people ; it is now bread and the theatre for some 
of the people. 

When the circus became tame and uninteresting and 
the people desired blood should be spilled for their 
amusement, the Gladiators' time had arrived. When 
some of the people of this age desired that blood should 



The Relation of Sex. 29 

be drawn for their amusement the prize ring was in- 
augurated. 

When the Romans went into battle they beheaded or 
enslaved their enemies whom they took prisoners. 
When the men of our time go into battle they shoot 
and kill as many as they can of the enemy and then 
collect indemnity of those whom they did not kill, to 
pay for the ammunition that was wasted, and so evolu- 
tion goes on. 

We who are living in the twentieth century are the 
Ninevites, the Babylonians and the Romans. Are we 
to be swept out of this life in the same inglorious man- 
ner that we were at those other periods of our exist- 
ence? Shall we go out from another incarnation in 
disgrace and humiliation because of our failure to learn 
that the right relation of the sexes is the rock founda- 
tion for all mankind to build his house of life upon, 
and because we fail to read the writing upon the walls 
of individual palaces? Or shall we turn from our follies 
and vices and save ourselves and our children from a 
repetition of those mistakes? 

True it is that each individual soul must ultimately 
stand or fall for itself; but it is also true that each soul 
has its influence to help or to hinder other souls upon 
their evolutionary journey. And the higher socially, 
politically or financially one stands, the more harm or 
help does one give to others ; for it is by one's example 
that one really teaches. 

Can we say to our children "be pure," "be truthful," 



30 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

"be honest," when we ourselves are impure, untruthful 
or dishonest? Can men and women who stand at the 
head of a nation expect or hope that the lesser social 
or political lights of that nation, which they represent, 
will shine brighter than they? 

Our Shalmanesers, our Sargons, our Nebuchadnez- 
zars, our Belshazzars and our Ptolemys as well as our 
Caesars, our Neros, and our Napoleons are all here. 
And we also have our Semiramis, our Amyitis, our 
Cleopatra and our Josephine among us to-day. The 
same force which each of those individual souls mani- 
fested as ancient characters is still theirs and is mani- 
festing now. 

rlt may be that the Caesars and Napoleons of to-day 
are rulers of finance, or they may be the most un- 
scrupulous politicians. Our Cleopatra and our Jose- 
phine may be women of fashion, shop girls or house- 
maids; but they are here and are playing their parts 
upon the stage in this drama of life. And while we 
are studying the subject of "From Incarnation to Re- 
incarnation" let each individual soul begin by asking 
itself these questions: 

"What am I doing in this twentieth century? Am I 
progressing or retrogressing? If I am Caesar, am I 
doing better or worse than I did in Rome? If I am 
Cleopatra, have I learned anything by my past experi- 
ences or am I making the same mistakes over and 
over again that I made when I ruled Egypt ?" 



LECTURE TWO. 



MARRIAGE. 

Before man divided and incarnated in the animal 
forms of earth, he was negatively good and blissfully 
happy, with that happiness which comes with inertness 
and passivity. He needed nothing, that was necessary 
for his condition at that time, which he did not have, 
for he was a part of Divine Consciousness, and his 
existence was forever established. As the tree draws 
life from the surrounding atmosphere and the earth in 
which it is implanted, so did the Sons of God live on 
the Universal Consciousness which surrounded them. 
Development and growth were impossible under those 
contented and blissful conditions; and had not that 
Eden garden been abolished, evolution of the soul on 
that plane would have come to a standstill. 

Those Sons of God could be of no assistance to each 
other, because all things were equally distributed, and 
there was no opportunity to be either selfish or gener- 
ous. There was no opportunity to render each other 
assistance because there was nothing to do. All had 



32 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

been done that could be done in that realm, and there 
was "nothing to live but life." Under those conditions 
stagnation for the future was inevitable, and nowhere 
in all the universe is absolute stagnation permitted to 
exist. Throughout all parts of Deity, during each 
Cosmic Day there must be activity. And so Divine 
Mind sent Its Sons to this earth to find what was not 
, to be found on the plane of their nativity. 

Ever since those Sons of God incarnated on earth, 
each half has been earnestly seeking a re-union with 
the other part of itself. Sub-consciously each one holds 
a mental picture of his past happiness, when, in the 
realm of innocence and purity, he dwelt free from the 
ills and troubles of his present state of existence. And 
each one longs for a return to the old blissful con- 
dition, for happiness is what every human soul desires 
more than anything else in the world, and it is for 
happiness that every one is striving. 

With Divine Man's descent into this material realm 
he forgot his origin, and the further he wandered 
among the forests and in the fields of sense the deeper 
he drank of the waters of Lethe. But in an inner 
chamber of each soul, where none can enter or disturb, 
there is a picture of another soul. Another face looks 
smilingly out and seems to beckon to the seeker after 
happiness, and says: "I am the one that you desire. 
When you find and possess me you will have your wish, 
for I am happiness." 



Marriage. 33 

Perhaps Man does not know it, but this picture is 
of the other half of his soul, and that soul is vibrating 
in all the shades of the colors which correspond with 
his own, and it is the only soul in all the Universe who 
is. He loves it, but he knows not why. And should 
he be an artist he tries to reproduce it upon his can- 
vas. If he is a musician he composes and sings to it. 
If an actor he plays his best when he thinks he sees it 
among his audience. If he is a man of finance he saves 
money for it, and dreams of the day when, in human 
form, it will sit at his table, wear his jewels and be his 
life long companion. Sometimes he has a fancy that 
he has seen it. A woman whom he meets reminds him 
of his sacred picture. There is a look or a gesture 
which he believes he remembers, and eagerly he seeks 
an introduction. It may or may not be the one he is 
looking for; if it is and a marriage is consummated 
between them, his soul's longing is satisfied. There 
will be no other face so dear and no other form so 
precious as hers. If he is a man well on in his develop- 
ment, he will always be true to her, and should she be 
taken from him by the transition called death, he would 
never seek to fill, with another, the place in his heart 
that she occupied. Should he be an undeveloped man 
with animal passions unrestrained, he would, in his 
brutal way, always love her best, but she might not be 
his only love. 



34 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

When a soul seeking happiness incarnates in female 
form, the precious picture of the other half of herself 
still remains in the sacred inner chamber of her soul. 
It is the same dear face that she has always loved and 
has been seeking through all the lives that she has 
lived. But now, perhaps, her fancy paints it dressed in 
military style, or perhaps it may be that he wears the 
royal ermine and a crown. And if not either one of 
these, perhaps she sees him in other walks of life, 
among the professions or in the trades. For in the 
midst of what a woman most admires, there she puts 
her sacred picture and there she does her worshipping. 

If the law of compensation has decreed that a woman 
shall not meet the other half of her soul in a lifetime, 
she may enter into what the world calls a marriage of 
convenience, j In this case, if her moral principles are 
well established, she is faithful to the man she has es- 
poused, and makes what the world calls "a good wife" ; 
but in the sanctuary of her soul is the sacred picture of 
her true love, her real husband; and when she is tried 
with the cares and vexations of her wedded life, and 
her heart aches with its emptiness, she turns to her 
sacred picture and for the time being is comforted. 

Marriage is the re-union of the two halves of a soul, 
and any other union which in any way imitates it, is 
necessarily a mock-marriage. When two mismated 
halves attempt to consummate a union, it is but an 
abortive attempt at marriage, and is never perfectly 



Marriage. 35 

satisfactory to either. When we stop to consider how 
many millions of half souls are dwelling upon this globe 
to-day, and when we realize that there are at least half 
as many more on the subjective planes surrounding the 
earth, and that from among this vast multitude there 
are only two who are vibrating alike, and who belong 
to each other, it is not difficult to understand why 
mock-marriages are so numerous. That they are a 
necessity up to a certain point, during the evolutionary 
work that has to be done, no one can deny. At this 
time they are helpful to each half soul who engages in 
them, for they bring experiences which are necessary 
in order that marriages may be understood and appre- 
ciated. There is no contract that man makes that is 
so far reaching in its ramifications as the legalized mar- 
riage contract. It effects, for good or ill, more souls 
than does any other contract, and it colors his own life 
more or less from the moment it is made until the end 
of many of his following lives. 

No soul or half soul knows what he is capable of do- 
ing or of becoming until he has been tried. He must 
indeed be ground upon the wheel of fine experiences 
before the brilliancy of his soul jewels can shine forth, 
and the mock-marriage covenant provides for him the 
greatest wheel in the machinery of life, while Divine 
Law turns it slowly or rapidly, as the exigencies of the 
case require. 

The question is often asked now : "Is marriage a fail- 



36 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

ure?" and the disgruntled victims of mock-marriages 
sometimes spend weeks and months in writing books 
devoted to this great subject. They believe they are 
doing the world and their fellowmen a service by hold- 
ing their personal miseries up to view, and they seem 
to get great satisfaction out of telling the world about 
the troubles wedded life has brought to them. They 
do not know that during all the lives that they have 
lived upon this planet, they have, perhaps, never been 
really married one dozen times, and often even those 
few experiences of connubial bliss are entirely forgot- 
ten. 

But, like all other false things, mock-marriage must 
some time be destroyed. When its purpose has been 
served in the evolutionary scheme it will disappear from 
the face of the earth, and marriage, for which mock- 
marriage is but a poor substitute, will take its place. 

It is a comfort, perhaps, to know that as the human 
race evolves, half souls meet oftener and enjoy the 
privilege of each other's society for longer periods of 
time. As the world grows older more marriages will be 
consummated, while mock-marriages will decrease in 
number and popularity. 

It is a well known fact that the time for boy and girl 
weddings is practically dnded, in the Western world 
at least; brides of sixteen and bridegrooms of twenty 
are now the exception and not the rule, as they once 
were. It is no longer a disgrace for a woman to go 



Marriage. 37 

through life alone if she feels disposed to do so. There 
are no more "Old maids," and if there were there is not 
sufficient opprobrium attached to the title to frighten 
girls into making mock-marriages to escape it. The 
woman who prefers not to wed but to remain true to 
her ideal — the sacred picture which she carries in her 
heart — is evincing a courage which many of her weaker 
married sisters would do well to admire. 

And the "Old Bachelor," who is attacked on every 
side by matrons, maids and unhappy benedicts, because, 
for a given reason or without one, he refuses to be in- 
veigled into a distasteful mock-marriage for the sake 
of some one else's convenience, is really a pioneer — 
although perhaps he does not know it — in the ranks of 
those who will in the future be instrumental in abolish- 
ing mock-marriages. Because he does not wed there 
is no reason to suppose that he has not his sacred pict- 
ure in his heart, and that he does not worship at that 
sacred shrine the same as all other half souls do. 

As evolution goes on and souls increase in strength 
and positive goodness, the Law of Attraction, acting 
along the line of least resistance, will bring half souls 
together even without the aid of their own conscious, 
mental demands, while mismated souls will be, by the 
law of repulsion, separated and swept apart more 
quickly than before. 

Many kindly disposed persons are regretting the fact 
that the "divorce mills are grinding by night and by 



38 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation, 

day," and are separating husbands and wives by the 
hundreds and thousands. The anxiety of these good 
people might be quieted, perhaps, by the knowledge 
that it is not an evil, but a good, that they are so ear- 
nestly deploring. The divorce mills never separate the 
husbands and wives who truly belong to each other, 
but only those mismated souls who have entered into 
mock-marriages which they can no longer endure. 

While recognizing the unhappiness of many mock- 
marriages, yet it is shocking to the man or woman 
who understands the sacred relationship of marriage to 
listen to the ridicule and contemptuous remarks that are 
constantly being made about it at many of our theatres, 
for instance, and at other places of amusement. The 
supposed funny men use this sacred subject for an ob- 
ject at which to fire their witticisms. They rack their 
brains and burn midnight oil trying to study out some 
new sarcasm concerning it; and as fast as they fling 
their sacrilegious jokes at the public, the daily and 
weekly papers report and illustrate them with cartoons 
and caricatures to make them the more convincing and 
impressive. 

It is true that the jokes nearly always bring a laugh 
from the mismated half souls who are or have been 
suffering from the inconveniences or miseries of a 
mock-marriage, but a laugh is not always an expres- 
sion of pleasure; sometimes it is but a thin veil for a 



Marriage. 39 

sob, and very often those who laugh do so because they 
do not know what else to do. 

Just a step below the loveless mock-marriage is 
another unhappy condition to which men and women 
often turn in desperation, hoping to at least escape 
from the limitations and bondage which the mock-mar- 
riage covenant so often puts upon its victims. This 
condition is prostitution of the sacred, generative 
organs, and is but another escape valve for the surging 
emotions and passions of souls who are seeking but 
have not found the other half of themselves. Thousands 
of misguided people are wallowing in this slough of 
despond called prostitution. It is a dismal, dirty place 
to be, and not one who enters it is happy or ever can 
be, so long as he stays there. 

Prostitution is called by various names according to 
the grade or depth to which a soul has sunken in it ; for 
there are degrees in this as well as in all other kinds 
of experiences which man encounters on this plane of 
existence. In its beginning prostitution is never called 
by its rightful name; if it were, now that the human 
race has reached its majority or age of understanding, 
it is probable that many souls would hesitate and per-^ 
haps be spared much suffering which comes through 
indulging in this vice. But society and the world at 
large use a softer, gentler word to designate this crime, 
and as a consequence the souls of the tempted ones are 



40 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

lulled into a false sense of security by the use of the 
wrong title. 

It does not shock the sensitiveness of a woman who 
has just entered the by-path of unchastity to say, "she 
has a love affair," "a little aside," or "a private ro- 
mance." But if she were to be told instead that she had 
become a prostitute, and had started for hell, she might 
pause and consider, and perhaps turn away from the 
temptation altogether. 

At its beginning the path of prostitution often as- 
sumes the appearance of a beautiful, restful pathway 
hedged by sweetest flowers and entered through a love 
bower of roses. A tempter in human form always stands 
at the entrance to this bower and smilingly invites all 
passers by to enter and enjoy the seductive influences 
to be found within. If it is a heartbroken woman who 
is passing, the tempter knows that she is wedded to 
a humanized brute, and it assumes the appearance of 
a thoughtful, kindly gentleman. Perhaps it may come 
to her in the form of her physician, her attorney or her 
pastor. At first he will look the sympathy he dare not 
express in words to her, and she feels rested and com- 
forted in his presence. After a while he tells her to 
come inside the bower which stands at the entrance 
to the by-path, and rest a while with him, and she, crav- 
ing the love of which she has been defrauded in her 
wedded life, steps aside, believing she will find within 
that bower what her heart longs for. 



Marriage. 41 

If the passer by is a disappointed man wedded to a 
woman who has no sympathy with him ; if he is aspir- 
ing to heights of fame or fortune which seem unattain- 
able, unaided and alone, the tempter at the entrance to 
the bower appears to him in the form of a woman, an 
intellectual and social leader of society, perhaps. She 
tells him he is worthy of a better place than the one he 
occupies, and that he can never rise to the heights he 
wishes to gain so long as he is held in bondage to the 
"clod" that he has wedded. She flatters him and offers 
to help him gain the position he so much desires, and 
he steps inside the love bower, believing it to be the en- 
trance to a higher life. 

If the passer by is a poor girl, earning her bread and 
the bread for some one dependent upon her, the 
tempter appears to her in the form of a man possessed 
of an abundance of the world's goods. He tells her that 
she is fitted for a better life than the one she is living; 
that with her beauty and her grace she should be 
gowned in silks and velvets, and that jewels should shine 
from among the locks of her beautiful hair and sparkle 
against her soft, velvety skin. He whispers love into her 
ears and promises to share his wealth with her if she 
will but step into the love bower with him. If she 
listens and accepts his invitation, she too, has started 
for the slough of despond called prostitution. 

If it is a young man just starting in life with his 
physical body filled with strength and animal magnet- 



42 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation, 

ism, the tempter appears to him in the form of a hand- 
some, dashing, laughing woman. She promises to give 
him excitement that will make the nerves of his body 
throb with delight. She offers amusements and pleas- 
ures most exquisite if he will enter the love bower with 
her; and when he has entered she points out the road 
beyond which she says leads to a "long life and a happy 
one." She is mistaken. She is pointing the way to a 
short life and a wretched one ; to nothing but the fleet- 
ing pleasures of sensuality. 1 For pleasure is not happi- 
ness. It is created only by the temporary gratification 
of the physical senses, and may be turned into pain in 
an instant of time. But happiness is soul harmony and 
may last so long as the soul exists. It may be enjoyed 
in the humblest as well as the most exalted positions in 
which man may live upon this earth. It is the light 
which shines from within the soul outward, and it is 
not dependent upon external things for its intensity 
or existence. 

In man's progress and search for happiness on earth 
he seems to find it necessary to investigate and explore 
all the by-ways which lead from the highway of life. 
Just opposite to the by-way of prostitution is another 
one leading in a diametrical direction. It is a much 
narrower path and more difficult to follow, and is called 
celibacy. It is never found nor tried by any soul until 
after he has lived through a few lives of prostitution, 

iMata the Magician, pp. 123-125. 



Marriage. 43 

with their attending miseries. Then, with his soul filled 
with loathing or with a fear of the consequences of 
sexual indulgences and excesses, the ordinary celibate 
rushes to the opposite extreme and enters into a life of 
sexual repression. 

If he becomes fanatical upon the subject, he shuts 
himself away from the world and refuses to see or 
speak to a woman. Perhaps he finds a few other souls 
who are smarting under similar afflictions, and he pre- 
vails upon them to join him in forming a society or 
brotherhood, which they agree to call a "holy order," 
and perhaps the remainder of that life will be spent 
where they cannot be reached by their former tempta- 
tions. In their desire to live apart from the world they 
sometimes retire to the mountains and build such bar- 
riers between them and their fellow-men as will guard 
them from what they believe to be their greatest enemy 
— women — and there they undertake to do God's will. 

Since all kinds of experiences are necessary to the 
development of a soul, this kind of a life, from an 
evolutionary standpoint, is a sort of resting place where 
man stops in his career while he reviews his past ex- 
periences and assimilates the good that is to be gotten 
out of them. The life of the celibate is a long step in 
advance of the life of prostitution, and there can be no 
doubt that in this new position man gains an advantage 
over the other kind of life. But if he has become a 
celibate because of his hatred for women, or because 



44 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

he fears that he is not strong enough to meet and over- 
come the temptations that the world holds for him, 
then he has not conquered his passions, and the Divine 
Law will force him back into the world at some future 
life to finish fighting the battles from which he has fled. 

Fear brings limitation of thought, and a limitation of 
thought brings a limitation of freedom. It is the fear 
of persons or of things which causes a man or a woman 
to voluntarily live behind iron bound doors and within 
solid walls of masonry. And the great piles of stone 
into which they retire for protection from the "world, 
the flesh and the devil" are but stupendous monu- 
ments of their fears. The power and extent of a celi- 
bate's fear are usually represented by the size of the 
monument he builds for himself, and although he may 
retire within it and live for a lifetime, he has not 
escaped from Divine Law, which will bring to him in 
another life everything that he feared and ran from 
in this one. 1 

If a man becomes a celibate because he is afraid of 
the consequences of living a life of prostitution, and if 
his desires for sex union are strong within him, then 
the continued and enforced repression of the physical 
expression of those desires will produce a congested 
condition of his generative organs, and also of all other 
organs which are sympathetically connected with them. 
He has not escaped from the consequences of his de- 

1 History and Power of Mind. pp. 84-90. 



Marriage. 45 

sires for sexual union, nor from the result of the physi- 
cal repression of those desires. 

**- Many physicians declare that celibacy produces 
monomaniacs, fools and lunatics, and advise their pa- 
tients to indulge, rather than repress, their sexual de- 
sires, calling such indulgences "physical necessities." 
The Occultist says that the true principle of celibacy is 
represented by the soul who lives the life of chastity 
because he loves chastity, and not because he fears con- 
sequences or future punishment. And when that point 
has been reached in his evolution, he has no fear of 
persons or of things tempting him to stray from the 
path of purity; and he will not become a lunatic nor a 
fool, nor will his life be spent within the walls of a 
monastery. 

The Century Dictionary defines chastity as, The state 
or quality of being chaste ; the state of being guiltless 
of unlawful sexual intercourse ; sexual purity ; celibacy ; 
the unmarried state; abstinence from lawful indul- 
gences in sexual intercourse; continence due to a re- 
ligious motive. 

There was once a man who said that virtue or chas- 
tity was like an onion. It had many layers or skins, and 
the deeper one went toward the heart of it, the thicker 
the skins became. The Century Dictionary's definition 
of chastity gives the word as many shades of meaning 
as there are skins of an onion; and after reading the 
various definitions, it is really left to the one seeking 



46 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

the truth to decide to which shade or layer he belongs 
or aspires. 

To the man sodden in debaucheries, the person who 
indulges in an occasional "aside," or "romance," repre- 
sents his ideal of chastity; and to the man with an oc- 
casional "affair," the one who does not violate the 
letter of his marriage vows is a chaste person. 
Physical virtue is what most persons call chastity, and 
the world thinks it matters not what impure things 
may be thought or said by either a man or a woman, 
if neither actually break the seventh commandment. 

This is not getting very deep into the onion, but it 
is a small gain and shows that the race has made some 
progress since the Ninevite and Babylonian times. But 
physical chastity alone is not to be trusted or depended 
upon. It is like any other negative goodness, and may 
be maintained so long as the environment conducive 
to that condition exists; or it may become corrupted 
at any moment when temptation is placed before it. To 
be of lasting value it must have the sustaining power of 
a pure mind behind it. And this condition is never 
reached in the career of any soul until it has gained a 
point in its development where it really desires to be 
chaste for chastity's sake, and not for the sake of in- 
dividual or public opinion. 

The world has the mistaken belief that the sweet 
privilege of chastity should be granted only to the 
feminine portion of humanity, and that it is exclusively 



Marriage. 47 

a feminine requisite and most unbecoming to the stern- 
er portion, the masculine element of society. To this 
great misconception of the truth is much of the do- 
mestic sorrows of to-day attributable, and the progress 
of the race must necessarily be retarded as long again 
as it would be if men recognized their own needs of 
chastity. For so long as men continue to believe that 
because of the majesty of their sex they are divinely 
and socially licensed individuals, and that the seventh 
commandment, or any other rule or code of moral 
regulations, applicable to women, is not applicable to 
them or to their conduct in life, the human race will 
make but very slow progress. Unless both sexes build 
their characters upon the rock foundation of chastity, 
their life structures cannot withstand the storms of ex- 
perience which come to every incarnated soul. 

How can one half of the population of the earth at- 
tain or maintain a condition of purity while the other 
half is working to overthrow and destroy that condi- 
tion ? Solomon, who was reputed to be the wisest man 
who had ever lived during ancient Bible times, asked: 
"Who can find a virtuous woman?" and then followed 
his question with the declaration : "For her price is far 
above rubies." If the Bible stories are true concerning 
his moral character, he was responsible for much of the 
scarcity of virtue among the women of his time; and 
when he complained of their impurity he was like the 
men who spend all their money in riotous living and 



48 Prom Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

then blame society and the government for their pov- 
erty. Solomon did not manifest any wisdom when he 
complained of a condition that he was using his kingly 
influence to produce; and Occultists would not enroll 
his name among the names of their wise men. 

When the Sons of God forgot their origin and be- 
came enamoured with the pleasures of sense, they first 
adopted the system of communal marriage for their 
marital relationship. This was largely due to the in- 
fluence of the animal minds which they had espoused 
and against which they were unable to contend. In es- 
tablishing a union of this kind a number of persons of 
both sexes who were comparatively congenial, agreed 
to become a community and to live apart from all other 
communities and to possess all things in common. This 
was the commencement of socialism. In a communal 
union of this kind the male parentage of offspring was 
irregular and uncertain. The mothers of the children 
became the absolute heads of the households, and the 
lineage of each individual could be traced only through 
its female ancestry. Since evolution can proceed only 
through individualization, and since communal unions 
were but one of the grossest forms of prostitution, 
there could be but one result growing out of such re- 
lationship, and that was the destruction of those com- 
munities either by reason of a mutinous element aris- 
ing within them, or by their being conquered and en- 
slaved by a stronger tribe of men. 



Marriage. 49 

Out of the communal union there evolved two other 
systems of marital relationship, one is called Polyandry 
and the other Polygamy, and each system was adopted 
according as it seemed best adapted to the climate and 
productiveness of the country in which the people lived. 
If some of the Sons of God migrated to a place where 
nature did not produce abundantly, and they had to till 
the soil in order to live, or if they were driven by an 
enemy into the mountains where there were not oppor- 
tunities for securing food through cultivating the soil, 
then large families were not desirable, and the marital 
system of Polyandry was adopted. By this system one 
woman became the wife of a family of brothers, the 
oldest brother making the selection of her, and the 
younger ones accepting his choice for the family wife 
without criticism or complaint. This was but a slight 
improvement upon the communal union, but it was an 
improvement, inasmuch as it limited the circle of pos- 
sible parentage to a family with a common name, rather 
than to a community composed of various names. 

But if those ancient men lived in a land where there 
was an abundance of food to be had without effort, and 
if for shelter he needed only to interlace the boughs 
of a few saplings together and then permit the wild 
rose or grape vines to grow over them, making for him 
a comfortable abiding place, then he adopted the mari- 
tal system of Polygamy for his sex union and raised 
large families of children. Under this system the line- 



50 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

age of each individual in a tribe was traceable through 
its male ancestry. 

When humanity had reached a point where history 
began, in the so-called sacred Bible records, it was sup- 
posed to be the duty of every man to do his uttermost 
toward fulfilling the command in Genesis : "Be fruitful 
and multiply and replenish the earth and subdue it." It 
was then considered a shame and a disgrace to the 
head of a family not to be able to produce abundantly 
through his marital relationship. In those days a "bar- 
ren woman" was a reproach to her sex, for she was 
believed to be under the curse of God, and her husband 
was justified by the customs of the times in "putting 
her away," while he brought another woman to fill her 
place in his home and to bear him children. Polygamy 
was freely practiced by men who thought it their duty 
— as well as pleasure — to use every available means 
toward swelling the size of the race to which they be- 
longed. This order of things was continued, and by 
some nations recognized as a religious duty, until the 
ten commandments were given to Moses for the benefit 
of the Children of Israel. That was the first religious 
check put upon polygamy, and that was not very far 
reaching since it only put a limit upon man's sexual 
relations between himself and other men's wives. He 
was still permitted to have as many wives as he could 
provide for if he confined his selections to unmarried 
women. But nothing is ever to be gained for a nation 



Marriage. 51 

through the practice of polygamy except numerical 
strength. In every other respect the practice is debas- 
ing and demoralizing. 

As a nation or race advances in evolution the Divine 
Law brings reforms ; and in spite of the desires of the 
mass of humanity, a way will be found to improve their 
condition. There was never a tribe of men or a nation 
so gross or sensual that it did not have its wise men 
who were stronger than those whom they undertook to 
teach. And those men who were in advance of the 
ignorant masses became the spiritual advisers of not 
only the people, but also of the kings and rulers. Many 
of the wise men, the High Priests of ancient Bible 
times, were Occultists and understood that marriage 
meant the re-union of two half souls; and when those 
ancient peoples had evolved to a point where they 
would listen to, and be influenced, by their wise men 
on the subject of marriage, the High Priests made the 
attempt to establish monogamy among them. 

When the priests were unable to determine whether 
those who wished to marry really belonged to each 
other or not, they "consulted the stars," which were 
supposed to indicate at the birth of each individual the 
exact point of development he had reached during his 
previous life. If the stars indicated adversely then the 
banns were forbidden, and the marriage was not con- 
summated. But if they indicated favorably, the wed- 
ding was sanctified by a most solemn sacrament, and 



52 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

during the performance of the religious marriage rites 
the command was given forth by the officiating priest, 
"Whom God hath joined together let no man put 
asunder !" 

It is to this fragment of Occult teachings that the 
Church of to-day holds as a reason for its refusal to 
recognize the contractual union or the modern divorce. 
And although it still attempts to enforce what it be- 
lieves to be the command of God, and refuses to believe 
in human power to annul a marriage, still it does not 
take the trouble to ascertain first whether or not it is 
the sacred re-union of two half souls which is being 
consummated, or even if there is a psychic or physical 
affinity between them. It bestows its blessing freely and 
indiscriminately upon all alike, and expects that, not- 
withstanding the ignorance of the persons entering into 
a covenant of this kind, it shall be established until 
the end of their natural lives. It is quite willing to for- 
give and absolve from consequences any mistake which 
man makes on earth except his matrimonial mistakes; 
but these which are the most serious of all, and which 
affect more souls than does any other, the Church does 
not permit him to correct. 

The contractual union is the outgrowth of the natural 
consequences following the many matrimonial mistakes 
and their attending miseries which men have made 
within the past few years. Smarting under what 
seemed to him an injustice inflicted upon him by the 



Marriage, 53 

Church in refusing to release him from his unhappy 
marital relationship, he conceived the plan of legaliz- 
ing, by civil law, any contract which should appeal to 
his reason and sense of justice and which would protect 
his rights and those of his progeny. 

This kind of union does not ask for itself the bless- 
ings of either priest or Church. The contract is usually 
prepared by an attorney and, like all other legal docu- 
ments of any value, is signed, witnessed and recorded 
among the records of the county or state where it was 
made. It is a coldblooded, unromantic way of an- 
nouncing to the world that a man and woman have 
agreed to enter into, what should be, the sacred re- 
lationship that exists between the true husband and 
wife ; but because of the undevelopment of the mass of 
humanity who is now incarnated upon earth, it seems 
at present to be a necessity. And since it is only the 
comparative few who marry for a reason other than for 
social or financial advantages, the contractual union 
serves its purpose very well indeed ; and the victims of 
a mock-marriage seeking a legal separation and divorce 
are by reason of this contract saved the humiliation of 
receiving a condemnatory reproach from the Church — 
since it cannot punish what it does not recognize. 

If an American girl buys a duke for the sake of gain- 
ing the social position of a duchess, it is because she is 
at a point in her development where she needs and de- 
serves all the experiences which follow the making of 



54 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

such a purchase. If: a nobleman barters his title for 
American dollars and accepts a girl as a bonus in the 
trade, he also needs, and will get, the experiences which 
will follow the making of his bargain, and there is no 
moral difference between this and any other trade. It 
is not a marriage — a union of souls — nor should it pre- 
tend to be. It is nothing but a union of the sexes as 
represented and expressed by those two individuals, 
and there is nothing more sacred about it than there is 
in hiring a mistress or buying a horse and cart. 

It is not a violation of God's command to separate 
those two persons by divorce or in any other way, be- 
cause God never joined them together; and it is to such 
cases of business unions as these that the written con- 
tracts of marriage fit best. It gives to the innocent off- 
spring from such a union its legal property rights and a 
respectful recognition by the world, and it gives to the 
woman who paid for them the privilege of using for 
the remainder of that life the particular crest and title 
adopted by, and belonging to, the house in which she 
has bought a seat. 

Among persons in other walks of life the same rule 
holds good. A loveless sex union is well evidenced by 
a written contract, and until the human race has 
evolved beyond its present condition and has reached 
a point where it understands and appreciates the sa- 
credness of the esoteric basis of marriage, the sacri- 
mental union will in most cases be but a burlesque. 



Marriage, 55 

But the mock-marriage, with all its numerous disad- 
vantages and unpleasant features, whether it be con- 
summated through a contract or by the religious rites 
of a marriage sacrament, is a necessity at this time in 
the evolution of the race. Without its restraining in- 
fluences upon the desires and passions of mankind, 
there would be no foundation for either positive or 
negative virtue to rest upon. Without it there would 
be nothing to build our homes or our governments 
upon, and the human race would be no better off to-day 
than it was when might was right and every man was 
a free lance to do with his own and other's property as 
pleased him best. Mock-marriage is not only a social 
and political necessity, but it is a karmic necessity as 
well, and through it many souls are brought together 
in the family circle to work out past obligations and 
to pay debts which could be paid in no other way. 

The Law of Justice does rule the world, although 
the contrary sometimes appears to be true, and it oper- 
ates in the most infinitesimal affairs and relations of life. 
If a man and woman have entered into a mock-mar- 
riage there was a karmic reason for it; one or the 
other, or both perhaps, owed a karmic debt which must 
be paid ; and it could be faithfully and fully done only 
through the devotion which is demanded and received 
through a covenant of this kind. If all persons who are 
chafing under the restraint caused by their matrimonial 
fetters would but realize that their present condition of 



56 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

unhappiness is but the result of past mistakes, of unjust 
treatment which they have given in some other life to 
the very individuals they are now joined to in wedlock, 
it would serve to explain many of the mysteries of 
wedded life. 

There is a way to become free from the unpleasant 
conditions which attend a mock-marriage, even though 
it has been karmically produced. It is through the 
power of mental demand. It is the divine right and 
privilege of every human soul to demand of Divine 
Mind its freedom from unpleasant environment. And 
if this is done and the demand goes forth into the Great 
Consciousness with all the earnestness of a suffering 
soul, the fetters will begin to fall away, and one after 
another the limitations will be broken. The liberation 
will come in the way which Divine Mind wishes and 
which, in view of all past mistakes and injustices, is 
best for the one who makes the demand. 1 This sub- 
ject will be again referred to in the lecture, "Mental 
and Spiritual Development." 

Since it is through the marital relationship that a 
race continues to exist and evolve, it is most important 
that those relations should be brought to the highest 
and best point of refinement, and should be maintained 
in that position by the social and political power of the 
race. 



1 The History and Power of Mind, pp. 150-162. 



Marriage. 57 

With the picture of unhappy marital relationship 
constantly before the eyes of the people, there are many 
individuals of both sexes who are seeking relief from 
their dissatisfied or wretched conditions by entering 
into what is called an "Independent Sex Life." 
j The Church says: 'Therefore (because/ woman was 
taken out of man) shall a man leave his father and his 
mother and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall 
be one flesh." And the unhappy married man or 
woman says : "That may or may not be true, and if it is, 
why should I be made to suffer a deprivation of agree- 
able sex relationship with some one I like better than 
the person I am married to, because thousands of years 
ago a woman was taken out of a man?" 

Then the State says to the would be Independent 
Sex Relationist : "I will punish you with fine or im- 
prisonment if you commit adultery or fornication." 
And the seeker after sexual freedom replies: "Then I 
will hide the truth from you ; I will do in secret what I 
am not permitted to do openly." 

And then commence the falsehoods which this man 
or woman must tell in order to be protected from the 
penalties which follow the living of a double life. When 
an individual commences to tell lies about a particular 
thing, he often loses his scruples concerning any kind of 
falsehood and sinks to the lowest degree of prevarica- 
tion and deceptionN His word becomes of no value to 
his friends nor to society in general, and after a while 



58 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

he receives nothing but disrespect from his fellow men. 
When he has ceased to tell the truth he has ceased to 
love it, and if he does not love the truth he will not 
be true to himself nor to any one else. 

But this is not all there is to be dreaded by the un- 
truthful man or woman. There are psychic dangers 
to be encountered in the dark red current of thought 
into which the untruthful person enters, through his 
deceit and double dealing. This current, which is the 
lowest rate of vibration of all the cosmic currents sur- 
rounding the earth and mankind, contains all the un- 
developed, disembodied souls who have passed from 
earth life. These souls, by reason of their grossness, 
cannot get away from the material plane, and, through 
the operation of the law of attraction, are drawn by 
sympathy to other souls — whether incarnated or ex- 
carnated — who are at a similar point of development. 
They are able now to enjoy only by proxy, as it were, 
the vices of which they were deprived by the loss of 
their physical bodies; and they surround the man or 
woman who, by adopting similar vices to their own, 
have entered their realm of thought, 1 and lead him to 
destruction. More will be said along this line in the 
lecture entitled "After Death." 



!The History and Power of Mind, pp. 169-177; 228-230. 



LECTURE THREE. 



PARENTHOOD. 

Ages and ages ago, so many that it makes man 
dizzy to try to calculate their number, the Divine 
Parenthood of man began. And billions of years be- 
fore man's creation, in the beginning of our Cosmic 
Day, God — Divine Mind — began getting the Universe 
— man's home — ready to receive him. 

During the first great period of our Cosmic Day God 
— Divine Mind — desired light. 1 The command went 
forth: "Let there be light," and the vibrations of cer- 
tain portions of the ether began to quicken and in- 
crease until, in accordance with the Divine Will, light 
was born. And all that was accomplished or estab- 
lished during the first period of our Cosmic Day was 
the awakening and quickening into activity of those 
great centers of consciousness which the Occultist calls 
Solar Deities and which the sun worshipping peoples 
call Sun Gods. 

During the second great period of our Cosmic Day, 



L The History and Power of Mind, p. 71, "Genesis. 



60 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

God — Divine Mind — desired that the undeveloped 
portion of Itself should separate from the developed 
portion, in order that the undeveloped portion should 
become subjected to evolutionary law applicable more 
directly to itself. "And God said, Let there be a 
firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide 
the waters from the waters." And God made the firma- 
ment and divided the waters which were under the 
firmament from the waters which were above the 
firmament, and it was so. 

In other words through the operation of Divine 
Will, the differentiated portion of Itself became sep- 
arated from the undifferentiated; the manifested was 
separated from the unmanifested, and there appeared 
in the Universe two distinct portions of the Universal 
Consciousness which men now call mind and matter. 1 

Both of these portions were of the same substance, 
but differed by reason of each portion's different rate 
of vibrations: "And God called the firmament (the 
undifferentiated portion of Itself) Heaven, and the 
evening and the morning were the second day." 

During the third great period of our Cosmic Day, 
God — Divine Mind — desired that from the differen- 
tiated or undeveloped portion of Itself there should 
be prepared abiding places for Its sons — when they 
should be created. And again the Divine Will went 



1 The History and Power of Mind, pp. 36-37. 



Parenthood. 61 

forth throughout the Universe and the creative Gods, 
the Elohim or Planetary Spirits were quickened into 
activity. Their long period of inaction during the 
Cosmic Night was now passed and they were ready at 
the first call of the Universal Consciousness to begin the 
labors of the new Cosmic Day. 2 "And God said, Let 
the waters under the heaven (the undifferentiated por- 
tion of Itself) be gathered together unto one place and 
let the dry land appear, and it was so." And God called 
the dry land Earth (Worlds) and the gathering to- 
gether of the waters called He seas, and God saw that 
it was good. 

And all that was accomplished during the third 
period of our Cosmic Day was the bringing into 
existence from the differentiated portion of Itself what 
the Elohim or Planetary Spirits saw pictured in Divine 
Mind. God made the mental pictures of what It de- 
sired should be materialized during the several periods, 
and this mental picturing is the creation described in 
the first chapter of Genesis, and in the second chapter 
of Genesis up to verse seven. 

The fourth great period of our Cosmic Day was one 
of Celestial Chaos. For at that time there was con- 
fusion in the workshop of the heavenly Gods. Many 
of the planetary systems were but blazing masses of 
burning gas. Comets were flying through space, col- 



2 The History and Power of Mind, pp. 101-103. 



62 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

liding and coalescing with other comets, and Divir.e 
Law and Order, during the greater part of that period, 
were prospective but not realized. The suns which 
were to become magnetic centers for world systems 
were blazing and bursting with the intense energy that 
was poured into them by the Elohim. The creative 
Gods seemed to play at cricket with comets, suns and 
worlds, and the whole heavens was but a pyrotechnical 
display of flaming planets. 

At the fifth great period of our Cosmic Day Divine 
Mind declared that harmony should again prevail in 
the Universe, and, in accordance with the Divine Will, 
Celestial Order came out of Cosmic Chaos. Planets 
and planetary systems became adjusted to their orbits 
and began revolving round their respective magnetic 
centers or suns, and the war between worlds came to 
an end. "And God said, Let the Earth (Worlds) 
bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed and the fruit 
tree yielding fruit after his kind whose seed is in itself 
upon the earth (worlds) and it was so." "And God 
said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the mov- 
ing creatures that hath life, and fowl that may fly above 
the earth in the open firmament of heaven." And God 
created great whales and every living creature that 
moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly 
after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind, 
and God saw that it was good, and the evening and the 
morning were the fifth day. The words "and God said 



Parenthood. 63 

let there be," or "God made," etc., in Genesis, always 
refer to the mental creation of Divine Mind. 

On the morning of the sixth great period of our 
Cosmic Day "God made the beast of the earth after 
his kind, and everything that creepeth upon the earth 
after his kind, and God saw that it was good." 1 

The mental pictures in Divine Mind not yet objectiv- 
ized by the Elohim or Planetary Spirits had now to 
be materialized, and "these are the generations of the 
heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the 
day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, 
and every living plant of the field before it was in the 
earth, and every herb of the field before it grew," in 
accordance with the divine ideal or picture. Then the 
Lord God — the Seraphim and the Cherubim — with 
their tremendous united power, became the demon- 
strators and brought these pictures into objectivity, or, 
"formed (animal) man of the dust of the ground . . . 
and out of the ground made the Lord God to grow 
every tree . . . and out of the ground the Lord 
God formed every beast of the field and every fowl of 
the air." This was the second or physical creation de- 
scribed in the second chapter of Genesis, and which 
will be elaborated in lecture four of this Course. 

And when at last everything was ready to receive 
him, "God said, Let us make man in our image, after 
our likeness; and let them have dominion over the 



l The History and Power of Mind, pp. 69-71. 



64 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and 
over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every 
creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." With 
Divine Mind's desire for parenthood there came into 
the Universal Consciousness the mental pictures of the 
Sons of God ; and when the Elohim saw those pictures 
they commenced to draw from the differentiated part 
of God individual portions of Divine Mind, and form- 
ing each of these portions into an oval or egg-shaped 
sphere, like themselves, they fulfilled the command and 
created each son in their own "image" and after their 
own "likeness." 2 Then they gave to each individual 
soul its own rate of vibration, and the magnetic power 
inherent in each, because of its Divine origin, made it 
an independent , magnetic, evolving, immortal soul, 
through whom its Father, Divine Mind, should be able 
to express Itself. And through whom It would be able 
to raise to a higher point of development the vegetable 
and animal kingdoms below man. And it was for this 
purpose that God gave His sons dominion over the 
earth and over all it contained. For Divine Mind 
works only through Its individual instruments from the 
highest and greatest centres of consciousness — the 
Solar Deities — down to the smallest and most insig- 
nificant creature in the Universe. 

When the Sons of God had incarnated in the animal 
forms of earth they immediately began using the laws 



2 The History and Power of Mind, pp. 65-68. 



Parenthood. 65 

which govern procreation. In those ancient days men 
knew no more about gestation than they did about 
digestion and became parents more from their animal 
desires and impulses than from any desire for offspring. 
In their ignorance of the law they not only used, but 
they also abused, it; and yet, unconsciously to them- 
selves, they became instruments, though many times 
imperfect ones, for the Divine Mind, their Father to 
work through. But God is patient with Its children, 
and after many ages of ignorance with their attending 
suffering had passed, man reached a point in his evo- 
lution where he recognized that there was a higher 
power than his own, and began to have a desire for a 
knowledge concerning it. 

He wanted to know the truth about himself and 
about his relationship to that power. He also recog- 
nized the fact that there were laws which governed 
him and his environment and he desired to become 
acquainted with them. Before the awakening of his 
desire to. know the truth concerning his family rela- 
tions, his children had been born with the regularity of 
the coming of the seasons. Sometimes there were so 
many that he could scarcely get food for himself and 
them. And when hunger commenced to gnaw daily in 
his stomach he suddenly awoke to the realization of the 
truth that he had been extravagant in exercising his 
parental privileges, and, notwithstanding his race be- 
lief that man should be fruitful and multiply and re- 



66 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

plenish the earth, he began to think about retrenching 
and demanded in his heart to know the laws governing 
the conception and birth of children and how to regu- 
late the size of his family. 

The law of demand and supply has been operating in 
the Universe since the Universe was created. And 
although men have not known how to use that law in- 
telligently and scientifically, still, whatsoever a man 
desires in his heart will come to him sooner or later. 
After a long period of wishing and waiting man's 
desire for knowledge concerning conception and his 
parental duties was met. Advanced souls, men who 
had lived through a former period of evolution and 
who had gained a knowledge far beyond that of the 
peoples whom they came to help, were sent to this 
earth to incarnate in human form and to become 
teachers of the rising, growing races. 

As the cool and gentle dew from heaven falls upon 
the parched and feverish earth, refreshing and reviv- 
ing it after the burning rays of the sun have disap- 
peared, so did the wisdom brought to ignorant, suffer- 
ing mankind, by the teachers of Occult Truths, revive 
and encourage such individual souls as were ready to 
receive it. By these teachers men and women were 
taught that to become the father and mother of a 
human body, the earthly temple for another soul, was 
a sacred, divine privilege. That parenthood should 
always be assumed with deepest reverence and with 



Parenthood, 67 

an earnest demand for wisdom to train each little per- 
sonality in a manner that will make it tractable for the 
incarnating ego to control. That when the tiny brain 
should become expanded to the point where it should 
be possible for the soul to take full possession it would 
be a good instrument, instead of a poor one, for the 
soul to use. As the Creative Gods in the heavens 
moulded the souls of men in forms similar to their 
own, so do the animal men of earth now reproduce 
their own forms in those of their children. 

It is true that "fools rush in where angels fear to 
tread," and the advanced souls see with fear and often 
with regret the consequences which must come to the 
men and women who carelessly and recklessly assume 
the responsibilities of parenthood and then deliberately 
shirk those responsibilities, or turn their little ones 
over to the care of ignorant and viciously inclined per- 
sons to care for. If a beautiful and wonderful jewel, 
a thing so rare that there was but one other like it 
in the Universe, were to be presented to a woman, 
would she give that jewel to a hireling to wear? Would 
she carelessly leave it, with its beauty and purity un- 
guarded, for weeks and perhaps for months, to be 
smirched and defiled by those with whom she has en- 
trusted it, and who know or care nothing for its value? 
What would the world think of the King who gave his 
crown to his valet to do with as he saw fit? And yet, 
in comparison with the soul jewels in the crown of 



68 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation, 

parenthood, the jewels in the crown of a monarch are 
most insignificant. 

Before a woman conceives the embryo which is 
to become a human body the Divine Law attracts to 
her a soul, or ego, which in a past life has been asso- 
ciated either pleasantly or unpleasantly with her or 
with the man who will be the father of her child. 
Sometimes this ego, who is about to reincarnate, does 
not leave her for a moment alone for weeks, and per- 
haps for months, before conception. It is ever present, 
waiting for the moment to come when copulation will 
occur and the conditions will be favorable for the con- 
ception of its body. And when the desired conditions 
are produced it sends forth from itself into the ovarium, 
within the mother, a tiny, blue, magnetic thread and 
fastens it to the life germ which the father has just 
deposited there. 

To the spiritual eyes of the Seer this magnetic thread 
appears upon the subjective plane as the web thread 
of the spider appears to physical eyes upon the mate- 
rial plane. Both seem to be equally fragile and easily 
broken; but the magnetic thread, when once attached 
to its embyro, is strengthened in its hold by the rein- 
carnating ego's intense desire for life. The Law of 
Attraction which brought that ego to that family also 
gives protection to the embryo through its action upon 
the uterus containing it. It causes that organ to con- 
tract around the tiny life germ for the first few days 



Parenthood. 69 

after it is received, or until a membrane, which will be 
a further protection to the embryo, is completely 
formed within the opening of the cervix. 

When conception is established, then comes the 
building of the body which the reincarnating ego will 
possess. If the ego or builder is an undeveloped soul 
and, without its volition, is being forced back into 
earth-life by the great Law, then the building of its 
body is not a conscious creation of its own, but is the 
result of the physical action of the law and the mother's 
mind. 

But the advanced soul consciously selects from the 
mother's blood the finest atoms for the embryo, and 
mentally moulds his vehicle according to his purpose. 
The reincarnating ego completely envelops the mother 
of its embryo at the moment of conception and con- 
tinues in that close relation during the whole period of 
gestation, and effects more or less her disposition and 
desires. If it is of a weaker nature than hers, then its 
influence is not externally apparent to any large de- 
gree; but if it is stronger, even if it be of a more 
undeveloped nature than hers, it dominates her in every 
way. She will no longer have the same likes or dis- 
likes, will sometimes yield to the most unaccountable 
tastes, and often to depraved appetites. Persons whom 
she once loved she will now despise and vice versa. 
Sometimes she will seem to be obsessed by a demon 
of animal passion and during the whole period of gesta- 



70 'From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

tion her sexual desires will seem to be unsatiable. To 
her friends she becomes a source of sorrow and dis- 
appointment, because they do not understand the cause 
of the change in her. She, herself, may not understand 
it and usually does not care to know the reason. 

If she were to be examined psychically by a clairvoy- 
ant she would be seen surrounded and completely en- 
veloped by a dark shadow — which is the aura of the 
ego who is incarnating as her child; and its colors 
would seem to have entirely overcome and suppressed 
her own. During the period of gestation perhaps she 
would be absolutely obsessed or insane — as obsession 
is more popularly called. 

Through the intense and perhaps gross desires of 
the reincarnating ego, it may impress the tiny body 
with impurities. It may poison the blood of the child 
with its own hatred and anger. Through its uncon- 
trolled emotions and passions it often produces an 
abnormal condition of some of its internal organs, and 
the body will be born with impure blood and a defective 
brain, or perhaps with a physical deformity of limbs or 
body. Then it will be said that these misfortunes were 
inherited from its parents, or that they were birth- 
marks caused by some fault of the mother, or by some 
mishap which befell her during the period of gestation. 

When the woman is relieved of the burden of carry- 
ing the child and her normal, mental condition has 
reasserted itself, by reason of the fact that the rein- 



Parenthood. 71 

carnating ego has been a step removed from her aura, 
she often suffers the deepest remorse because of the 
unfortunate condition of her child. Her friends, and 
perhaps her husband, tell her how disgracefully she 
has misbehaved, and blame her for the condition of 
her offspring. In reality, however, she neither con- 
sciously nor unconsciously produced it, and it may be 
that the ego of her child was drawn into her family 
because of its past relationship with her husband who 
is now its father. 

It is true that she was karmically connected with 
her husband and that the Law brought them together 
for that reason. Through her relationship with him 
she had to participate in his karma, but she may not 
have had any past association with the particular ego 
who was now reincarnated as their child, and should 
not be blamed for its misfortunes. 

Some one may ask why is it not right, under such cir- 
cumstances, to produce a miscarriage and dislodge the 
unfortunate embryo, rather than to permit it to de- 
velop into an unruly and disreputable individual and 
become a source of trouble to its parents. To such a 
question the Occultist would reply : Nothing whatever 
would be gained by producing such a miscarriage, 
since that unruly, undeveloped ego actually belongs to 
that family by reason of past association, and the Law 
would continue to bring it back again and again until 
that woman or man to whom it belonged were compelled 



72 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

to give it parentage, and thus pay the debt that he or 
she owed to it. For all mankind at this point in the 
evolution of the race owe debts that can be paid in no 
other way than by becoming parents, and the Divine 
Law is an inexorable collector of karmic debts. 

If a developed or advanced ego is seeking reincar- 
nation in a certain family it is also because of karmic 
reasons. 1 During some past life there was formed a 
pleasant relationship between it and some member of 
that family. Or perhaps it may be that it is the other 
half of the soul of the mother to whom it has now 
come in the relationship of child. 2 In a case like this 
the soul of that mother will be uplifted all during the 
period 'of gestation and she will anticipate the coming 
of her child with the happiness that she would feel at the 
prospect of a visit from her dearest friend. She will 
dream of it by night and plan beautiful things for it 
by day. It will be a pleasure to her to fashion the 
dainty garments it is to wear, and perhaps she will not 
permit them to be made by other hands than her own. 
Things happening in her household or among her 
friends which once disturbed and annoyed her now 
bring nothing but a smile to her face. She is per- 
meated with the aura of the soul that she loves better 
than any other in the Universe and her sacred picture 
grows daily clearer to her mental vision. This is be- 



x Mata the Magician, p. 154. 
2 Linked Lives, p. 203. 



Parenthood. 73 

cause it has come so near, it has indeed again become 
a part of her, and they two are blended together as 
they were before coming to earth to suffer and learn 
to be strong. 

If it is not the other half of herself, but is equal to 
her in development, then she is often contented and 
pleased with the possibility of becoming a mother. If 
it should be an ego greatly in advance of her, she 
would be blessed in many ways by the close relation- 
ship during gestation and the impetus her mind would 
receive from it would take her a long step in advance 
of where she was when she conceived the little body 
for it to use. 1 

Heredity, according to the common acceptance of the 
term, is impossible. Neither the father or mother of 
a child can give to it its character or any part of it. It 
is true that in the case of a reincarnating ego not being 
as strong as either of its parents the physical body may 
resemble in appearance one or both parents. This may 
be due to two causes. First, the reincarnating ego 
may be, in a general way, of a similar character to one 
or both parents. Or it may be that it is not a con- 
scious builder of its body and negatively waits for the 
Law and for the mind of its mother to mould its body 
for it. 

By many physicians, and by society in general, it is 



*Mata the Magician, p. 105. 



74 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

believed to be true that the father or mother can trans- 
mit impurities and disease through their blood to their 
innocent offspring, and that a child will thus be made to 
suffer for the sins of its parents. The Occultist would 
say no ego could reincarnate with parents who would 
inoculate poisons or disease into its body, unless, by 
reason of its own past mistakes, that ego deserved to 
have them. It could never be brought into that family 
by the Law, if it did not belong there, because the Law 
is Justice as well as Law. To the mother who finds 
in her children the taint of a poison which she knows 
she did not give them, but which came from their 
father, the Occultist would say: Because of this let 
no bitterness live in your heart toward the man whom 
you have espoused, because it is a debt which is being 
paid and the child whom you believe to be an inno- 
cent sufferer for another's sins had sins of its own to 
expiate and is expiating them under the right and 
proper conditions now. 

By this it is not meant that nothing should be done 
to improve the condition of the child, because improve- 
ment is always needed at every moment during the life 
of a human being. But do not blame God for the afflic- 
tion, or do not believe it to be an especial dispensation 
of Providence sent to you. 1 Do not waste force weep- 
ing and lamenting, but look at it philosophically and 



1 The History and Power of Mind, pp. U6-U9; 244. 



Parenthood. 75 

help that ego to live better this time than it did before, 
so that it may not suffer again in a like manner. And 
while you seek to eliminate the poison from its body 
also try to eliminate from its mind the poisonous 
thoughts which brought it to this condition. 

There are sins of omission as well as sins of com- 
mission, and nowhere in any walk of life are there more 
of these to be found than in the relationship of parent- 
hood. The mother who is too ignorant or too careless 
to watch her baby and prevent that little animal per- 
sonality from contracting in its infancy the habits 
which will later lead to sexual abuses, wakens some 
day to the realizing sense that her beloved son or 
daughter in whom her heart's pride is centered has 
become a nervous, physical wreck because of the fear- 
ful practice of masturbation. Or has, perhaps, entered 
the broad road of prostitution to suffer, and it may be 
to die a disgrace to the mother who neglected her 
parental duty toward that child. 

Modesty is the first lesson that should be taught to 
the baby. When it begins to toddle teach it that there 
are certain portions of its body which must always be 
kept decorously covered, and which must not be han- 
dled or played with. Bad impressions are often made 
on a baby's mind by the admiring mother who bears its 
little body and shows it to her friends, or has its picture 
taken in its nudity. Baby soon learns to believe that 



76 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

nudity is nice, and it is more difficult for it to unlearn 
a thing than to learn it. 

When a baby girl has reached an age of understand- 
ing, the wise mother will win her confidence by talking 
with her alone each day upon the subjects which seem 
of the greatest interest to the child. She will ask her 
questions concerning the children with whom she plays, 
or of the servants in the house who have the care of 
her ; and very soon she will be able to determine some- 
thing of the daily influences which are brought to bear 
upon the child. During those hours of sacred confi- 
dence the plastic mind of the child should be moulded 
into the right condition to resist the evil of the outside 
world. If during those precious hours the mother 
teaches her that she is never alone, but is surrounded 
by night as well as by day by Divine Consciousness 
which knows every thought she thinks and every act 
that she performs, the child will not be easily led into 
transgression. 

Before the girl reaches puberty, the time when the 
progressed reincarnating ego usually takes full posses- 
sion of its body, 1 the wise mother will impress upon 
her mind that for the protection of her good name, and 
in order that her future husband should fully trust in 
her virtue and purity, God had created within her body 
a hymen, which is the physical expression of the purity 



Mata the Magician, p. 126. 



Parenthood, 77 

of her thoughts. She will tell her that this expression 
of physical purity must be guarded as carefully as her 
eyes, which are but the material windows for her soul. 
And she will impress the thought upon the girl's mind 
that the hymen is a veil for the sacred creative organs 
within her body, and it must remain where God placed 
it until the time shall come when she will enter into 
the relationship of wife. 

Because of her sex the baby girl should not be made 
an isolated subject to be taught the necessity for purity 
of thought and action. The baby boy should begin his 
private interviews with his mother at an equally tender 
age. For it is a great mistake to believe that because 
he is a boy he does not need to be taught purity or 
does not come under the same rules that should govern 
the conduct of his sister. Souls are sexless and incar- 
nate alternately in male and female personalities. It 
is the soul of the boy that the mother is educating, and 
it matters not which sex it uses now, the truth and 
purity which is taught it to-day will last throughout its 
future reincarnations. 

It is a mistake to believe that the modest man is not 
a strong character, or that he is a weakling because he 
refuses to enter into the follies and vices which society 
permits him to enter and still retain its respect. So 
let not the mothers be afraid of robbing their sons of 
any of the majesty of their manhood by teaching them 
along the same lines that they teach their sisters. Vir- 



78 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

tue is a wonderous jewel and shines as brightly in the 
crown of manhood as it does in the crown of woman- 
hood. And whichever place it may be it always serves 
as a strong light to illumine the pathway of its posses- 
sor on the journey of life. 

The Occultist would say, be not ashamed to be or 
to become a modest, truthful, virtuous man ; for by so 
doing you will be entitled to be taught the highest wis- 
dom given to man upon this planet. But if you have 
not the rock foundation of virtue and truth to stand 
upon you could not bear to know the highest Occult 
teachings, which will be given only to those who ar v e 
thus prepared and are therefore ready. 

Teaching by word of mouth is not all of the parental 
duties. The lessons taught the child as it sits on the 
parent's knee are beautiful and impressive, but they do 
not do all the work that needs to be done in the child's 
heart garden. There is the daily example which both 
parents put before it and which goes very far toward 
moulding the little one's character into a perfect or 
imperfect image of manhood or womanhood. 

It is natural and right that the mother should be the 
child's ideal of perfect womanhood, and that the father 
should be its ideal of perfect manhood. It is also nat- 
ural that those ideals should be raised or lowered in 
the child's mind according to the behavior of the ob- 
jects of those ideals. How can a mother teach mod- 
esty to a child who sees her exposing her own person 



Parenthood. 79 

in a state of nudity? How can she teach her child 
purity of thought and action when she, herself, indulges 
in impurity? She may think she is concealing her con- 
duct from her child, but those little bright eyes see 
much more than she imagines, and that active little 
mind will draw its own conclusions at a very tender 
age. How can a mother teach a child to be truthful 
when she, herself, tells falsehoods to it and before it? 
It is true that children are often impelled to ask em- 
barrassing questions, and desire to know many things 
which it may not seem advisable to answer at that time. 
In such cases, instead of telling a falsehood to conceal 
the truth, it is better to say: "When you are old 
enough to be told this thing which you are asking 
about, I will answer your question." 

If a baby of five or six years wishes to know where 
her baby brother came from, it is neither advisable nor 
necessary to enter into a detailed account of the cir- 
cumstances and conditions which brought him into the 
family. But the little ones's question being an honest 
one, deserves a respectful and considerate reply ; and it 
is not right to put her off with the usual tale of a 
stork or a fairy bringing and leaving him on the 
door step; nor that the doctor took him out of his 
box where he keeps all other babies. If it does not 
seem advisable to tell the truth at that time, then one 
should promise to explain the mystery at some future 
time. 



80 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation, 

It is a mistake to tell children the Santa Claus 
falsehood. It is true that it makes a very pretty story, 
and a child lives in a delightful dream of expectation 
until the sad day comes when it learns the truth. The 
awakening is usually a terrible shock and disappoint- 
ment, and its confidence is forever shaken in the per- 
son who told and maintained the falsehood. Circum- 
stances which seem trifling and unimportant to a pa- 
rent are of great importance to the child who is learn- 
ing its first lessons in life. And the little one's dis- 
appointments are as hard for it to bear as are those 
which break the hearts and ruin the lives of men and 
women. 

Because of their love for their children, parents often 
make slaves of themselves and sacrifice much which 
they need and desire, in order that their children may 
have more than they can afford to give them. It is not 
an unusual thing to hear a mother say: "I will never 
see my daughter's hands look as mine do. She shall 
never work as I have worked if I can help it. My 
child shall have all the advantages that were denied to 
me because of the poverty of my parents. It is my 
duty to deny myself in order that she may become ac- 
complished." 

The one object in life is the development and growth 
of every individual soul, and not one should be re- 
tarded in its evolution by becoming the slave of another 
soul. The mother who works all day in the kitchen, 



Parenthood. 81 

laundry, or at household work, in order to save her 
daughter's white hands from the stains of labor, is not 
only retarding her own growth, but she is at the same 
time fostering in her daughter's character a degree of 
selfishness which will retard instead of advance her 
progress in life. If the ego who came to reincarnate 
as the daughter of the hard-working, self-sacrificing 
woman had not needed and deserved the lessons in 
physical labor which Divine Law intended she should 
get in that environment, then she would not have been 
brought to that family to incarnate. And the mother, 
through her mistaken sense of duty, transgressed 
against the Divine Law when she refused to share her 
labors with her child. Because of the many self-im- 
posed tasks the mother cannot take time to read or 
to think along educational lines; she has very little or 
no time to spend upon her toilet, and as a consequence 
she appears illiterate, stupid and poorly gowned. The 
daughter for whom she has toiled is ashamed of her, 
and perhaps repudiates her relationship if an oppor- 
tunity is presented. 

There is a saying that if a man makes a doormat of 
himself his friends will wipe their shoes on him. This 
is a very terse way of stating a great truth and applies 
to the case under discussion. This mother earns the 
punishment she receives for attempting to evade the 
operation of the Law which governs her own and her 
daughter's progress. The punishment Is bestowed 



82 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

upon her through the individual whom she, by her mis- 
taken ideas of duty, has retarded in her development. 
It is a fearful thing to hinder the evolution of another 
soul, and never fails to bring its punishment. 

It is not infrequent that the old father and mother 
are left unthanked and alone to toil and pay off the 
mortgage that, while laboring under their mistaken 
sense of duty, they put upon their home in order that 
their boy could go to college and have a sufficient 
amount of money to dress equal with, and to spend in 
company with, the wealthy men's sons with whom he 
would associate during his college days. And it is not 
infrequent, when the young man returns to his humble 
home and compares it and his homely old parents with 
the homes and parents of his fashionable friends, that 
he feels ashamed and' aggrieved and often blames his 
father and mother for his poverty. Such a young man 
might be heard to say: "They brought me into the 
world against my will and now they may take care 
of me," and the disappointed father and mother bow 
their heads and bend their backs under the burden 
which mistaken duty has put upon them. 

It was not the duty of those parents to risk losing 
their home for the sake of giving their son an oppor- 
tunity in life which neither of them could have. But 
it was their duty to share with him their labors as well 
as their blessings. If the boy had an aspiration for a 
college course, and was willing to earn the money to 



Parenthood. 83 

pay for it, they had no right to keep him at home or 
to refuse him the opportunity to progress along any 
line he chose to follow. Because he was their son they 
had no right to demand a lifelong servitude from him 
any more than, because they gave him birth, he had 
the right to demand a life servitude from them. There 
were experiences which he needed in that humble en- 
vironment which would serve to bring out the strong 
points in his character as no other environment would 
do ; and Divine Mind placed him there because it was 
the best place for him to be. It was not necessary, 
however, that he should always remain in that environ- 
ment, and after the necessary lessons had been learned 
and the required strength had been gained, he had the 
right to release himself and to work out his life prob- 
lems in any way that he liked best. 

It is not an unusual thing to hear a mother say: 
"My daughter must have jewels and fine clothes and 
be 'up to date' ; it does not matter about me, I am 
getting old, and an old woman does not need anything 
anyway." 

This is another case of mistaken parental duty. In 
order that her daughter may have fine clothes, jewels 
and be "up to date," an evolving soul creeps into a cor- 
ner and hides herself because of her shabby, old-fash- 
ioned appearance. She cannot meet her daughter's 
friends because she has given everything she possessed 
toward ornamenting and beautifying her daughter. 



84 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

She does not know what kind of society her daughter 
keeps because she is not permitted to appear in the 
parlor when company is present. The real maternal 
duty of supervising the selection of her daughter's 
friends is overruled by the mistaken duty of keeping 
her "up to date," and permitting her to try to force 
herself into a social position which the family ex- 
chequer is not able to maintain without sacrifice to the 
parents. 

That mother's punishment for her transgression of 
the Law usually comes in the form of dishonor to the 
daughter and a consequent disgrace to the family 
name ; and she is compelled to creep further than ever 
into the background and hide her head for shame of 
that which she has been instrumental in precipitating 
upon herself and upon her child. 

When the majority of the women of any nation abso- 
lutely refuse to become mothers, whether it is because 
of their poverty and inability to support their children, 
or whether it is because they are too fashionable and 
have not the time to give to the sacred duties of 
motherhood, then the world may know that "race sui- 
cide" has begun in that portion of the globe where 
those women dwell. For the law of demand and sup- 
ply works along this line as forcefully as along any 
other, and when women commence to picture them- 
selves as barren and demand barrenness, they are 
scientifically creating that condition for themselves and 



Parenthood. 85 

for the nation to which they belong. If artificial means 
are used to produce this condition the demise of the 
nation will be hastened. And if a point has been 
reached where its limitation of thought, its fixed re- 
ligious beliefs and its unprogressive modes of living 
are causing mental strangulation to the individuals who 
compose it, then the addition of these various causes to 
the first great cause soon brings demolition. 

For example, take the Chinese race. There are a few 
individuals in that great nation who manifest a desire 
to break through the ancient customs of their ances- 
tors by going to America and elsewhere to live. Some 
of these emigrants adopt, to a limited extent, the cus- 
toms and modes of living of the peoples whom they 
go among. But as a nation the Chinese are bound by 
their religious beliefs to the time of Confucius; and 
because of their ancestral worship cannot depart from 
those ancient religious customs. Some of the men 
who come to America make a pretense of manifesting 
an interest in the religions of their adopted country; 
but, as has been repeatedly shown, there is no founda- 
tion for that interest other than curiosity or a desire for 
financial gain. 

With most of their men and with many of their 
women sex relationship has reached a point of utter 
moral depravity. Licentious indulgences are with 
them a recreation and a pastime. Many of their 
women are born barren and, in order that prostitution 



86 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

among them may not be restrained by child-bearing, 
many women are made barren by artificial means. This 
last named crime alone would destroy the nation after 
a few more generations. But when that crime is com- 
bined with all the limitations and obstructions which its 
people have put in the way of their own evolution, there 
is but one result that can come and that is destruction 
of the entire Chinese nation. 

It is to be hoped that the people of our own and other 
nations, who believe themselves to be progressive and 
enlightened, will learn something of the causes and un- 
mistakable signs which precede and produce "race sui- 
cide," and not be so unwise as to require experiences 
similar to those of a dying nation in order to learn the 
lesson Divine Law is trying to teach. 

Since there are two sides to every subject, there is 
another side to this one. Opposite to "race suicide" 
stands the other extreme, which is parental slavery. 
Parenthood is a necessary experience in man's evolu- 
tion, but parental slavery, produced by overmuch pa- 
renthood, is another great mistake. Because God said 
on the morning of man's creation "be fruitful and multi- 
ply and replenish the earth and subdue it," many people 
have believed it to be a duty they owed to God to give 
birth to as many children as it was possible to do, and 
regardless of health or of financial conditions bore 
children in such numbers that they were utterly unable 
to take care of them. This is exhibiting an extrava- 



Parenthood. 87 

gance in the parental privileges of man and is as much 
to be deplored as any other extravagance. 

It is true that there are many egos upon the subject- 
ive plane awaiting opportunities for re-incarnation. But 
so there is an abundance of food in the world waiting 
to be transformed into blood, bone and muscle. A 
man who would constantly overcrowd his stomach in 
order to accommodate the food that was waiting to 
be transformed into something higher than food would 
be abusing that organ and would soon reach a point 
where he could not retain any food, and he would 
shorten his life as a penalty for his extravagance in 
eating. 

There are certain religious orders which encourage 
and even command their female members to give birth 
to as many children as it is possible to do ; and priests 
have been known to advise the sacrifice of the life of 
a mother for the sake of bringing another child into 
the world, even though at that moment there was a 
family of little ones to be left motherless by his decision. 

The Occultist would say such advice as this, coming 
from a priest, supposed to be a holy man, should be re- 
garded as a crime, and should be made punishable by 
the State. It is a mistake to allow such men to teach 
ignorant people to commit such wrongs as these, for 
it is as much of a wrong to sacrifice the incarnation of 
one soul for the sake of giving incarnation to another 
as it is to take life in any other way. 



88 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

It is not necessary that a soul should become a slave 
to a larger family of children than it has means to 
comfortably provide for. It is not right nor just for 
a man and woman to toil early and late and be deprived 
of the advantages and pleasures of life in order that a 
number of other egos may have an opportunity to re- 
incarnate. But every man and woman should be wil- 
ling to pay the parental debt they owe to the Divine 
Law, by having some children. In other words they 
should be willing and glad to give bodies to and to 
educate at least two other egos to pay for their own 
birth and education. 

But if an individual does not wish to pay his v debt 
and prefers to shirk his sacred obligation; if he feels 
either mentally or physically unqualified for parent- 
hood, then he should refuse to marry and should devote 
his time to the improvement of his mental and physical 
condition and toward helping improve the condition of 
others who need his assistance. 

The Nazarene said: "For ye hath the poor always 
with you," and the man or woman who does not desire 
to marry and become a natural parent can find much to 
do for the fatherless and motherless children in the 
world who need assistance. 



LECTURE FOUR 



PHYSICAL AND PSYCHIC DEVELOPMENT. 

In the three lectures preceding this one there have 
been a few brief glimpses of cosmogonal evolution and 
of the relationship existing between God — Divine Mind 
— and some of the greatest individualized centers of 
force in the Universe ; such as the Solar Deities and the 
Elohim or Creative Gods. It must be understood that 
these great Centres of Consciousness were the com- 
bined products of remote Cosmic Days, and that on 
the morning of our first period they were but called 
again into activity and were not newly created as was 
anciently believed. For God did not create the earth 
and all it contained first and then make "two great 
lights : the greater light to rule the day and the lesser 
light to rule the night : and the stars and set them in the 
firmament of the heaven to give light upon the Earth/' 
as is stated in the first chapter of Genesis. 

But, in accordance with the Divine Law, which is 
also the law of necessity, the stronger centers of force 
preceded the weaker in this Cosmic Day, the same as 



90 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

they did during past periods, and will forever con- 
tinue to do; and therefore the Occultist would say, 
before the creation of worlds, or of planetary systems, 
the suns were created which were to give light and 
heat and magnetic life to those worlds. 

On the morning of the second period of our Cosmic 
Day, after light had been established and after the Di- 
vine Will had caused the separation to take place be- 
tween the undifferentiated and the differentiated por- 
tions of Itself, and after God had said : "Let there be a 
firmament in the midst of the waters." Celestial Be- 
ings, who in our Scripture were sometimes called the 
Seraphim and Cherubim, and who had been but waiting 
for the Divine Summons to arouse them from their 
inactivity — came forth from the undifferentiated por- 
tion of God and were ready to begin the work which 
the All Father, Divine Mind, desired them to do. 

Like the Elohim, these great Beings were also cen- 
ters of individualized consciousness, but differed from 
them in being the products of the Cosmic Day just past. 
When the last Cosmic Night came on they had, through 
individualization, evolved to a point beyond the possi- 
bility of re-absorbment into the Universal Conscious- 
ness. 1 And although they were possessed of lesser 
power, being smaller centers than the Elohim, still the 
individual Godhood of each had been established, and 
they belonged to the "Heavenly Host" of souls who 
work everlastingly for the upbuilding of the Universe. 



J The History and Power of Mind, pp. 100-101. 



Physical and Psychic Development. 91 

Throughout our Scripture these Beings are frequent- 
ly mentioned, and are called by various names, accord- 
ing to the impression made upon the mind of the indi- 
vidual who saw them. Usually they appeared singly 
to persons, as in the case of Saul, who was going to 
Damascus to persecute the ancient Christians. The 
description he gave of the Being who stopped him in 
his mad career was more nearly correct than was usually 
given in those days. He was impressed with the 
thought that it was Jesus of Nazareth who spoke to 
him, and in his report of the incident he said : "Suddenly 
there shined round about him a light from heaven ; and 
he fell to the earth and heard a voice saying unto him, 
Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" and for three 
days afterward he was without sight, and neither ate 
nor drank. 

It may or may not have been the Being who had been 
using the body of the humble Nazarene in order to 
teach humanity how to live to higher standards of mo- 
rality ; but whether it was He or not, it certainly was a 
Celestial Being who had been sent to Saul to enlighten 
him regarding the mistakes he was making in persecut- 
ing his fellowmen. And it was not the first nor the 
last incident of the kind which has occurred among 
mankind. 

In the first chapter of Ezekiel there is a most graphic 
description given of four of these Beings who, that 
ancient prophet declared, had appeared to him. He 



92 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

said they looked exactly alike and had "the appearance 
of the likeness of the glory of the Lord." And when 
he heard the voice of the One who spoke, he fell upon 
his face and was unable to stand before that holy com- 
pany. 

It is not unreasonable to believe that the ridiculous 
description Ezekiel gave of that Celestial Quartet was 
highly colored by his intense emotional condition, as 
well as by the imperfection of his clairvoyant vision at 
that time. So far as the details are concerned, his de- 
scription of those Beings could not have been correct, 
since Beings who have reached the point of develop- 
ment which entitles them to the position of Creative 
Gods have no need for wings, neither do they have ani- 
mal heads nor birds' faces. But they are great Souls 
who in their Cosmic Day were men like the men of 
our present day, but who have now become disem- 
bodied, yet have retained every principle except their 
physical vehicle, for which they have no further need. 
And, instead of going to some far away heaven and 
spending an eternity in selfish bliss, they have chosen 
to do the work of self-sacrifice which ends only with 
the Cosmic Day in which that work is undertaken. 
Combined they form the invisible "Host" which ever 
protects and watches over humanity within its karmic 
limits. Singly or in pairs, they sometimes visit indi- 
viduals who have become worthy of their help. They 
are the protecting, compassionate, guardian angels for 



Physical and Psychic Development. 93 

struggling, suffering souls of earth. They are the 
Elder Brothers, the Saviours, the Avatars for undevel- 
oped men. 

With their intense and rapid rates of vibration they 
sometimes appear to man as great centers of light or as 
radiant suns encircled by all the colors of the rainbow. 
And if one of these wondrous Beings comes into close 
proximity with an undeveloped incarnated soul, that 
soul is often unable to bear the Presence and retain his 
consciousness on the material plane. 

Sometimes one of these Beings takes a physical body 
and uses it for a short time for the purpose of enabling 
Him to mingle with men and thus help a race or a na- 
tion by leading it over a difficult place in its evolution. 

But whether incarnated or not, they inspire and up- 
lift the leaders of peoples teaching them at all times 
the highest truths that they are able to understand. 

The laws operating in the macrocosm also control 
the microcosm, and since in order to evolve, Divine 
Mind has to express Itself through the instrumentality 
of individualized centers, it was necessary in the sixth 
period of our Cosmic Day, after suns and worlds and 
systems of worlds had been created, that It should con- 
tinue further with the individualization of Itself. When 
the earth was formed and adjusted to its orbit in the 
heavens, and when its surface had become sufficiently 
cooled and encrusted to form a substantial foundation, 
the vapors which had been accumulating in its sur- 



94 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

rounding- atmosphere, by reason of the intense heat 
emanating from it as a mass of burning gases, were 
precipitated back upon it in the form of a heavy rain. 
This is described in Genesis second chapter and sixth 
verse: "But there went up a mist from the earth and 
watered the whole face of the ground." The Occultist 
further says that there was a great downpour of rain 
which lasted for many years until the whole face of the 
earth was covered with water. And that for ages 
Mother Earth was covered with the restless, surging 
sea. 1 

When the time had come in the earth's evolution 
that individualized life could be maintained upon it, the 
earth, through its own magnetic power of attraction, 
commenced to draw from the differentiated portion of 
the Universal Consciousness surrounding it the cosmic 
life currents which were to ensoul it and to ensoul all 
the animal forms which it should sometime produce. 
The first current which was attracted, and which en- 
tirely permeated it, was the cosmic current orange. 
This is the current that gives life to everything and 
without which neither minerals nor vegetables nor ani- 
mals could exist. 2 Without its renewing power even 
the earth itself would soon become nothing but a huge 
ball of crumbling coke and slowly disintegrate. After 
the life current was established and had formed a broad 



iFrom Incarnation to Re-incarnation, p. 8. 
2 The History and Power of Mind, p. 231. 



Physical and Psychic Development, 95 

protecting band around the earth then came the cosmic 
current red 1 and blended with the orange upon its outer 
edge. In this current are the elements which induce 
pro-creation and therefore it was a necessary force to 
aid in the work of re-production of the vegetable and 
animal forms of earth. After the cosmic current red 
then came another which vibrates at the rate producing 
green 2 and blended with the red upon its outer edge. 
In this current are the elements which produce and 
maintain the principle of individualization and thus it 
was also a necessary factor in the work which Divine 
Mind desired done upon the earth. 

When our globe had become surrounded and en- 
souled with these currents or colors it was ready to 
bring forth into objectivity the various vegetable and 
animal forms which Divine Mind had created on the 
mental plane, and in this work the Seraphim and Cheru- 
bim, the Lord Gods of the second chapter of Genesis, 
became the demonstrators. 3 

According to the command of God — Divine Mind — 
the Elohim had created the Sons of God out of the 
differentiated part of the Universal Consciousness and 
had placed him in a realm of innocence upon another 
sphere or orb in our planetary chain ; and now the Sera- 
phim and Cherubim undertook the work of creating the 
forms of vegetable and animal life and the bodies of 
animal men out of that part of the differentiated por- 

»The History and Power of Mind, p. 228. 
a The History and Power of Mind, p. 232. 
8 From Incarnation to Re-incarnation, p. 63. 



96 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation, 

tion of the Universal Consciousness which had been 
attracted to and had ensouled the earth. 

Since Divine Mind had pictured certain portions of 
the earth covered with grasses, flowers and trees, and 
had thus formed the matrices for these individualized 
expressions of Itself, seven Seraphs and seven Cherubs, 
half souls of each other, formed into a group of Creative 
Beings for the purpose of materializing Divine Mind's 
mental creations. These Beings with their united force 
raised continents above the surface of the waters and 
caused "the waters under the heaven to be gathered to- 
gether unto one place." Then they slowly drew from 
the orange, the red and the green currents, ensouling 
the earth, a combined force which, as it passed through 
the mineralized soil and appeared upon its surface, in- 
dividualized and materialized into the many forms of 
vegetable life which they had seen pictured in Divine 
Mind before they grew. 

First came the tiny lichens upon the rocks, then the 
grass and flowers, the shrubs and finally the trees ; and 
thus the command of God — Divine Mind — was fulfilled ; 
"and out of the ground" made the Lord Gods to grow 
every plant of the field and every "tree that is pleasant 
for the sight, and good for food." 

After the vegetable kingdom was created and was 
ready to support the animal life that was to come, then 
this group of Celestial Beings began slowly to material- 
ize the pictures they saw in Divine Mind of the fish. 
First came the various kinds of mussels, mollusks and 



Physical and Psychic Development. 97 

bivalves. All were without shells in the beginning but 
afterward, those that needed, evolved such protection 
as would preserve life and maintain continued exist- 
ence. And after ages and ages there were evolved 
from the mussel, fish ; and from the fish a creature half 
fish and half fowl, which finally evolved to fowl and 
flew above the waters instead of swam in the waters, 
and thus was fulfilled the mandate of Divine Mind: 
"Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving 
creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the 
earth in the open firmament of heaven." 

And after the waters had been made to bring forth, 
then these Celestial Beings began slowly to materialize 
the insect and animal forms which they had seen pict- 
ured in Divine Mind. From the decaying roots of the 
grasses and the flowers the life principle was drawn into 
tiny insect and animal forms (which of course did not 
include the malignant creatures which were subse- 
quently the offspring of men's minds). 1 And from the 
decaying roots of shrubs and trees the life principle 
was drawn into larger animal forms. 

The soul of the squirrel which now has its home in 
the hollow of a decaying tree was once the soul of a 
tree. Then it depended upon the soil and the atmos- 
phere for its individual maintenance and its limitations 
held it firmly attached to the mother earth which bore 
it. When its experience as a tree had been sufficient, 
and when its material tree body began to decay, the 



1 The History and Power of Mind, p. 173. 



98 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

Universal Consciousness, desiring a higher individuali- 
zation for it, acted as the evolutionary impulse and 
pushed the tree soul out of its dying vehicle, and the 
Celestial Beings moulded it into the tiny squirrel form 
which they saw pictured in Divine Mind. Because of 
its former life as a tree and because of its past associa- 
tions with the forest, in its new and more progressed 
form it loved and made its home among the trees, until 
after many re-incarnations as a squirrel it outgrew that 
condition also and was able to use a larger and a 
stronger body. And thus the animal kingdom was 
gradually evolved through the re-embodiment of the 
life principle, combined with the pro-creative and in- 
dividualizing forces, until a form was evolved which 
stood erect and walked upon two feet. This form the 
Celestial Beings — the Lord Gods — created (evolved) 
from "the dust of the ground." It was the materialized 
and mineralized product of the earth. And when they 
"breathed into his nostrils the breath of life," or drew 
into his body the combined cosmic life currents, (ani- 
mal) "man became a living (animal) soul," and was 
ready to receive the divine, immortal principle which 
was waiting upon another sphere to come and im- 
mortalize his existence. 

In Lecture One of this course it was shown how the 
Sons of God incarnated in the animal forms which the 
Celestial Beings had prepared for them, 1 and the ac- 



1 From Incarnation to Re-incarnation, p. 10; The History and Power 
of Mind, pp. 69-71. 



Physical and Psychic Development. 99 

count of that incarnation will not be repeated. It is 
sufficient to say that after the union of the two minds, 
the higher and the lower, or the subjective and the 
objective, the struggle for the supremacy commenced 
between them; and although man has lived upon this 
planet until more than one-half of the time has passed 
which was allotted to his evolution, the struggle be- 
tween his two minds is still strong and he is now only 
just beginning to learn something about his origin and 
nature. 

Since history began to be written there have been 
individuals who have stood forth during their age or 
generation in the position of psychics ; and because of 
the mental or moral undevelopment of some of those in- 
dividuals, psychism has suffered a great deal of oppro- 
brium. The Century Dictionary defines psychism as: 
"The doctrine that there is a fluid diffused throughout 
all nature, animating equally all living and organized 
beings, and that the difference which appears in their 
actions comes of their particular organization." 

To the ordinary student this definition is confusing. 
For if there is a fluid diffused throughout all nature 
which animates equally all living and organized beings, 
why should not every being be equally effected by it? 
It also defines the word Psyche, from which psychism 
is derived, as a Greek word meaning among other 
things "the human soul, spirit or mind." If it is the 
human soul which is supposed to be diffused through- 

L.Oi G. 



100 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

out all nature and which animates equally all living and 
organized beings, then the first definition is wrong, be- 
cause, as is most apparent, it is the soul's own person- 
ality which is most animated, and other beings or per- 
sonalities are affected by it according to its condition 
of development and consequent influence over them. 

The great trouble with the definition as it stands is, 
that the person who wrote it was not acquainted with 
the subject he was writing about, and the trouble with 
humanity is that it knows very little about the subject 
and is always suspicious of whatever it is not acquainted 
with. 

Occultism teaches that psychism or psychic develop- 
ment is soul growth and that it is not an "especial gift 
from God," to one individual more than to another; 
but it is the result of the soul's evolvement and conse- 
quent ability to see or to be otherwise conscious on 
planes other than the material, while it still functions 
in a physical body. That psychism pertains to and is 
an attribute of the soul and not of the spirit or sub- 
jective mind is shown by the fact that many animals are 
psychic. There are many instances on record of horses 
who have been frightened at disembodied entities and 
have refused to draw a carriage containing the dead 
body of a man or ot a beast. This was because they 
saw or were conscious of the disembodied soul of the 
corpse which they feared. And dogs have been known 
to fear or to follow and obey the will of a disembodied 



Physical and Psychic Development, 101 

soul who was invisible to persons who were not psychic ; 
and yet no one could possibly claim spirituality for the 
animals. 

The cult which calls its followers spiritualists has had 
much to do with bringing confusion in the minds of 
investigators along this line of thought. Many of the 
followers of this cult believe themselves to be "spirit- 
ualists," because they have accepted as a truth the fact 
that there is eternal progression for the human soul — 
which belief is an entirely separate and distinct thing 
from a knowledge of spirit or of things spiritual. 
Every living thing is animated by a soul and this soul, 
whether it is of a plant or of animal or of a man, is the 
evolutionary force within, which re-incarnates again 
and again until sometime and somewhere it reaches the 
spiritual plane of development. Then and not until 
then can it be properly called spiritual. 

There are two kinds of psychic development, the 
prudent, which leads to independent clairvoyance and 
clairaudience ; and the imprudent, which leads to the 
destruction of the physical body or to insanity. The 
prudent psychic develops his body by living a natural, 
orderly life. Through meditation and concentration 
and by a conscious use of the life currents and of the 
higher cosmic currents, he keeps his thoughts pure and 
his body well and strong. 

With the coming of the Sons of God to this planet to 
incarnate, there were added to the band of colors already 



102 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

surrounding it two higher cosmic currents or colors. 
The first three, the orange, the red, and the green, were 
all that were needed to ensoul the earth and the vege- 
table and animal kingdoms. But when the Sons of 
God came here to dwell, being of a higher rate of vibra- 
tion than any thing on earth, their evolution depended 
upon their having higher forces to draw from. Hav- 
ing been created out of that portion of the Universal 
Consciousness which vibrates as blue, they were blue 
and their mental supplies had to be drawn from the cos- 
mic current out of which they had been created. For 
man is the connecting link between the Celestial Beings 
of other Cosmic Days and the lower creatures of his 
own day, and it is through him and his efforts that the 
lower kingdoms will be raised to a higher development. 
Without the blue cosmic current he could not continue 
to maintain his present position in the Universe, but 
would deteriorate into the same general rate of vibra- 
tion with the creatures below him that draw their sup- 
port from the lower cosmic currents. 

With the coming of the blue current to enlarge the 
earth's aura there also came the next higher current, 
which is the yellow or spiritual, and with this the cosmic 
band of colors was completed. All that man and all 
the other individualized creations of earth would need 
to draw upon during this period of evolution was now 
ready for use; but the last two were for man, since it 
was intended by Divine Mind that Its Sons should as- 



Physical and Psychic Development. 103 

pire and attain to the yellow or spiritual realm, and by 
so attaining uplift all the creations in the world below 
them. 

With these conditions in view the prudent psychic 
begins to lay the foundation for future clairvoyancy or 
Seership by going about getting his body into the 
proper condition in a scientific manner. For he knows 
that without a sound body and a wholesome mind his 
psychic development would be more harmful than help- 
ful to him. Independent clairvoyance and clairaudi- 
ence belong to man's mental and spiritual development 
and come only by consciously using the cosmic currents 
blue and yellow. Instructions how to gain these attri- 
butes of soul will be given in Lecture Five of this 
course; at present physical and psychic development 
will be discussed, since these two things are the basis 
or foundation for the higher attributes to rest upon. 

The first races of mankind that existed upon the 
earth were powerful in their physique; "there were 
giants in those days;" and those ancient men were-sup- 
plied with several physical organs which have now 
either entirely disappeared or have diminished in size 
to nothing but infinitesimal and apparently useless 
glands. The diminution of these organs was caused by 
the sexual excesses which man indulged in and to the 
artificial modes of living which he adopted. For ex- 
ample, the tiny gland in the center of his brain which 
medical science calls the pineal gland was once a center 



104 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

of consciousness used by ancient men for the purpose 
of functioning upon the psychic plane. 1 It was the 
organ through which the soul reported psychic events 
to the material plane. Situated at the end of his au- 
ditory nerves was once other glands or centers of con- 
sciousness which the soul used to transmit psychic 
vibrations into audible sounds. But because he grew 
to love the material things of earth more than the 
psychic or mental, he neglected and finally ceased to 
use those centers of consciousness which he possessed. 
With the disuse of an organ it diminishes in size and 
strength and after a long continued disuse it becomes 
atrophied, and so it was with these centers of conscious- 
ness in man's brain. Because of his grossness and sex- 
ual excesses, the selfish and brutal conditions into 
which man sank, his psychic centers of consciousness 
dwindled to glands very little larger than pin heads and 
became of no use whatever to him. 

The same condition became true of other organs in 
his body. Originally there was an extra receptacle at- 
tached to the caecum or head of the intestinal colon, 
which is now called the vermiform appendix. For 
those ancient men it served the purpose of retaining a 
vital fluid which was abstracted from his food during 
the process of digestion, and which would supply him 
with sufficient nutrition to enable him to exist for weeks 
and sometimes for months without taking any other 

!The History and Power of Mind, p. 184. 



Physical and Psychic Development. 105 

food. Now the miserable remnant of that once won- 
derful organ has degenerated into nothing but a cause 
of much suffering for mankind in general, and a source 
of considerable revenue for some of the members of 
the medical profession. And while our learned sur- 
geons proceed to remove the now useless attachment 
they wonder what it was ever created for. 

In ancient days man was also supplied with a pair of 
glands which were situated just above his kidneys and 
which medical science now calls suprarenal bodies. 
These bodies were created for the purpose of secreting 
other precious fluids vitally necessary to the prolonga- 
tion of his physical life ; but like the psychic centers in 
his brain these organs have also become obsolete, and 
all because of his neglect and abuse of his physical 
body. 

At this time in the cycle or evolution, during the last 
half of the sixth great period of our Cosmic day, man 
is beginning to bestir himself, and is trying to regain 
some of the powers he once possessed and so extrava- 
gantly wasted. It is encouraging to note that the ris- 
ing generations have begun to depart from the customs 
of the generations passing and are devoting more time 
to athletics. Twenty or thirty years ago it was con- 
sidered quite the proper thing for wealthy men's sons 
to aspire to becoming nothing but effeminate fops. In 
those days the heaviest things the fashionable scions 
of some of the old aristocratic families lifted or at- 



106 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

tempted to carry were their fancy headed canes, which 
they sat and sucked while they idly stared out of their 
clubhouse windows at the women who passed. They 
did nothing and knew nothing about anything besides 
the regular routine of the useless indolent lives that they 
lived. And the most arduous things the young women 
of that class and generation did was to practice a little 
piano music and eat bon bons. Both sexes were pale 
and puny and usually died quite young. But the rising 
generation seems to have caught step with the law of 
evolution and is cultivating its physical strength. And 
although it may not realize what great benefit will be 
derived from so doing, yet is surely laying the founda- 
tion for a magnificent physique for the coming race. 

As it has always been with every new impulse in the 
right direction, there are persons who take an extreme 
view of everything and over-do whatever they under- 
take to do. By reason of their enthusiasm in believing 
that if a little of anything is good, a great deal is better, 
they are strongly inclined to over-do in their athletic 
exercises. To acquire health and strength it is not 
necessary or advisable to spring out of a warm bed in 
the morning and while the stomach is empty take a 
plunge into a tub of cold water; and then in order to 
bring the blood back to the surface of the body, from 
the vitals where it has been driven by the sudden shock, 
rub the skin until it smarts with the violent friction 
of rubbing. But it is necessary to rise and dress and 



Physical and Psychic Development. 107 

then open a window which lets the sunlight into the 
room, and while raising the arms to the highest point 
above the head slowly fill the lungs to their greatest 
capacity with the pure oxygen of the morning. Then, 
as the breath is slowly exhaled, allow the arms to fall 
to the sides, and while this exercise is being repeated 
the thoughts should be concentrated upon the blue or 
yellow cosmic currents which surround the earth and 
supply man with his mental and spiritual forces. 

It is not necessary to practice lifting great weights 
in order to strengthen the muscles and gain physical 
strength. Neither is it necessary to hang suspended 
by the heels in mid air over a horizontal bar until the 
veins and arteries are ready to burst with the blood 
that is thus unnaturally forced into them. Man's Crea- 
tors never intended that he should walk or stand upon 
his hands with his feet elevated in the air. An intelli- 
gent examination of his venous system will show that 
he was intended to walk or stand upon his feet and to 
use his hands and arms for other purposes than for 
walking. And such extreme exercises as these are not 
permanently helpful. For a time a man may feel thrills 
of exhilaration passing through his body because of his 
cold bath or of his exciting acrobatic performances, but 
there always comes a reaction from those shocks to his 
physical body the same as follows the thrilling experi- 
ence of drinking a stimulant. The extra strength is 
not his to keep, but is only borrowed from the future 
and will leave him as suddenly as it came. 



108 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

Because it has been reported that a great hero called 
Hercules practiced lifting a calf each day until it 
reached maturity and in this manner gained the 
strength to carry it when it became full grown, many 
of our modern heroes and athletes, who live where 
calves are not available, substitute iron dumb bells for 
infant bovines, and increase the weight of those bells 
until they sometimes injure themselves permanently 
with straining. They forget — if they ever knew — that 
the strength they are now beginning to regain was lost 
ages and ages ago and that since it went gradually it 
will return gradually if they go about getting it in a 
wise and prudent manner. 

Very few recognized athletes live to the age of fifty 
years and many die after about ten years of hard train- 
ing. They suddenly collapse or go out with pneu- 
monia or heart failure and people wonder why those 
strong men were unable to resist a severe cold when 
they could lift much more than their weight. The rea- 
son is this. They had been overstraining their lungs 
and their muscles, and when the reaction came and they 
were placed upon a bed of illness their overstrained 
organs collapsed like an overcharged balloon. 

Gentle, healthy exercises are both beneficial and nec- 
essary for man's physical and psychic development ; but 
physical exercises should always be regulated by good 
judgment and common sense the same as should any- 
thing else that man does. 



Physical and Psychic Development, 109 

For an aid to the practice of concentration there are 
muscular exercises which are most beneficial and which 
serve to develop both the muscles and the mind. In- 
stead of lifting heavy weights and overstraining the 
muscles it is a better exercise to concentrate the 
thoughts upon a particular muscle and learn to raise 
and lower it by the power of thought concentration. 
The circulation of the blood in the body can also be 
controlled in a like manner, and this is a better exercise 
than that of walking or of running for many miles for 
the purpose of getting a good circulation. If a person 
desires to test the truth of this statement for himself, 
let him concentrate his thoughts upon the blood in his 
feet. For five consecutive minutes let him think of 
nothing but his feet and the blood which is flowing 
into the veins and arteries of them. See the veins 
throbbing and filled with blood in any portion of his 
body and he will very soon be able to control the circu- 
lation of his blood as well as to strengthen and enlarge 
his muscles by his power of concentration of thought. 

If a person desires to enlarge and magnetize his brain 
and the psychic centers within it, let him concentrate 
his thoughts upon the tiny glands which are the com- 
bined physical and psychic centers of consciousness for 
his soul. Let him see the blue cosmic current flowing 
into his brain or such center until it throbs with this 
animating, magnetic fluid. But when his head seems 
to be entirely filled with the current, and he feels it 
vibrating strongly, it is unwise to continue longer to 



110 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

draw upon it at that time. He should remember not 
to be extravagant in this any more than in any other 
exercise ; for in the beginning of his practicing he can 
over-do with his mental gymnastics the same as with 
his physical athletics. In other words he should be 
gentle and prudent with this as with every other thing 
he undertakes to do and not waste his precious force in 
smashing and tearing at himself because he may have 
a plenty. It is much easier to destroy anything than 
to construct it, and it requires much less time. There 
are mental as well as physical reactions, and it is well to 
avoid both as much as possible. 

Now that man has reached the age of Marconi and 
telephone systems for transmitting intelligence and 
sounds, it is not so difficult for him to understand how 
subjective sounds and scenes can be transmitted and 
described upon the material plane. After witnessing 
the process of receiving from a ship in mid ocean a 
message, and having it telephoned from the receiving 
station to him in his home, perhaps he can understand 
how the soul can transmit through its highly developed 
and sensitive instrument its message to the material 
world. But it is with this as it is with every other thing 
in the world that is done well, the proper conditions 
must exist in order to produce perfect results. If the 
Marconi receiving instrument is out of order the mes- 
sage sent to it from the ship will either not be received 
at all, or it will be imperfect and incomplete and there- 
fore not be understood. If the psychic's brain is be- 



Physical and Psychic Development, 111 

fogged with the fumes of liquor or tobacco, or if the 
vibrations of his receiving glands and auditory nerves 
are deadened or stupefied by drugs or poisonous medi- 
cines he will not make a good transmitter of the mes- 
sage sent by the soul. Therefore it is an absolute neces- 
sity that a good psychic should possess a good body. 
He must be sound in mind and sound in body if he is 
to become an independent clairvoyant or clairaudient. 

The imprudent manner in which psychic power has 
been developed has been the greatest of all the reasons 
for the disrepute which psychism suffers among intelli- 
gent persons of the world. No intelligent thinking 
person is going to accept as a truth anything that is 
told him by a wild eyed, long haired, pallid faced man 
or woman who is posing before the public as a psychic. 
The woman who goes about the streets muttering or 
whispering to herself or gesticulating, with her eyes 
half closed, is of no credit to the subject she is studying 
and wishes to present to the world. 

The woman who tells everybody she knows and 
everybody she meets that she "is so psychic" or that 
she "examines psychically everything and everybody" 
she sees, is an unfortunate, misguided specimen of im- 
prudent psychic development; for she has neither a 
sound body nor a sound mind for the foundation of her 
development and is therefore totally unreliable in her 
statements. The prudently developed psychic will 
neither dress nor appear differently from the class of 



112 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

people to which he belongs, and will always use his 
powers wisely. He will not advertise himself in any 
way as a psychic, nor will he seek notoriety through 
his powers. If he gives to a friend of the knowledge 
he has gained he does it because he believes it will be 
of benefit to his friend, and not because he hopes or 
expects that in some way the giving will accrue to his 
own advantage. 

There are many ways by which a lower order of 
psychic development can be gained, but two of the 
principal ways are through the Orientalists' method of 
breathing and yoga practices, and through so-called 
spiritualistic developing circles of some of the Western 
students. Both these methods usually produce a low 
order of mediumship which is never approved of by the 
true Occultist. 1 For if Occultism stands for anything 
in the world it is for the independent development for 
every individual soul, and not for the dependence of 
one soul upon another whether incarnated or ex-car- 
nated. 

The material plane upon which man lives is inter- 
penetrated by the first subjective plane which is 
crowded with disembodied souls who cannot get away 
from the material stage whereon they acted their vari- 
ous parts in their drama of life. It is perfectly natural 
that the dispositions and desires of these souls should 
not change by the laying down of their bodies. , And it 

ir The History and Power of Mind, pp. 168-184. 



Physical and Psychic Development. 113 

is natural that if they can find embodied souls whom 
they can influence or control that they should try to 
control them, because it is the natural tendency of un- 
developed natures to desire to manage other persons 
affairs for them. There are hundreds of men and 
women in physical life who are ready to give advice to 
others about the most delicate and intricate matters 
pertaining to their private affairs and then bitterly re- 
sent it if their advice is not followed. And it is the 
same kind of souls upon the first psychic plane who 
offer themselves as "heavenly guides" to mortals of 
earth. 

The disembodied entity who succeeds in gaining 
sufficient influence over a psychic to in any way control 
his thoughts or his actions, commences to draw upon 
the magnetism of that person from the first moment 
the attachment between them is formed. And if its 
influence is permitted to continue, if the psychic is quite 
willing and anxious to be led by his "heavenly guide," 
there will soon be additions made to his group of "con- 
trols" and this will continue until he becomes possessed 
by a whole "band" and never for a moment will he be 
acting independently or according to his own judg- 
ment. He never is permitted to think for himself, but 
is constantly impressed with the thoughts of others 
who do his thinking for him, and while they give to 
him their often mistaken ideas, they draw from him his 
physical magnetism until he becomes a nervous wreck. 



114 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

He becomes their magnetic dynamo or supply station 
from which they take copiously. 

He permits his business — if he has any — to be con- 
ducted under the guidance of a soul who was an Indian 
warrior and whose own business during his last earthly 
experience was that of hunting and fishing and taking 
scalps. If the psychic fails in business he wonders 
what was the cause of his failure, since he followed 
faithfully the directions of his "Indian guide." 

In his marital relationship he may be guided by a 
soul who in earth life was a polygamist, and who still 
believes in a plurality of wives. If the psychic finds 
himself incarcerated in prison for the crime bigamy 
while acting under the guidance of this "control," he 
wonders how it could have happened. These instances 
will suffice for the present, but further explanation of 
the psychic plane and its relation to the physical world 
will be given in Lecture Ten. 

Yoga practices for psychic development are older 
than the written history of mankind and was used by 
the priests on the Continent Atlantis, which is now 
sunken beneath the sea. The yoga of to-day has de- 
generated from its original purpose of upbuilding the 
body and brain of man and has become a dangerous 
and most degenerate practice. The Occultists say it 
was used by the first teachers of the races, by the Ava- 
tars and the Saviours, for the purpose of raising man's 
mind from the material things of earth to the spiritual 
planes of thought. To produce perfect mental har- 






Physical and Psychic Development. 115 

mony between God and man. In those ancient days 
the priests and high priests retired into their sanctuaries 
when they wished to commune with Divine Mind, and, 
through meditation and concentration upon the Great 
Consciousness and the Celestial Beings, received the 
spiritual enlightenment they demanded. But they did 
not indulge in the foolish chastisement or scourging 
of their physical bodies as do the yogi of the present 
day. They did not sit upon the ground in a single spot 
without moving until the roots of a tree grew over 
their limbs. Neither did they clench their hands and 
hold them in that position until their nails grew into 
their palms. 

There are Orientalists who teach Western students 
the damaging and dangerous yoga breathing, for the 
purpose of stimulating or awakening psychic centers of 
consciousness in the body and the brain. The Occult- 
ist would warn against the practice. To many who 
read these lectures this warning will be unnecessary 
because their own limited experiences have brought 
about physical disturbances. These results are in- 
evitable because the unnatural method of breathing 
suddenly changes the polarity of the brain and reverses 
the natural circulation of the blood, bringing abnormal 
pressure upon the psychic centers in the brain. Be- 
cause the brain controls the nerves of the body the en- 
tire nervous system is thus sympathetically affected. 
The sudden change from the natural to the unnatural 
manner of breathing renders the physical body negative 



116 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

and unable to resist an attack of epilepsy or obsession. 
The minor physical results manifest in one or more of 
the following forms: temporary blindness in one or 
both eyes, bleeding at the ears or nose, stammering and 
hysteria. If a person desires to know something fur- 
ther of the results of yoga breathings let him make a 
study of those who practice them, whether they are 
from the Orient or from the Occident. It is not dif- 
ficult to find victims of this wretched practice in many 
of the insane asylums of this country and it is not pos- 
sible to find one person who has gained anything in 
spiritual development by aid of them. 

Swami Vivei <fonnande^, who introduced yoga 
breathing in this country, died, it is said, from the re- 
sults of his own practices. His demise was a great loss 
to the world, however, for he was not only an able man, 
but he was a helper of humanity, and the Occident 
should revere his memory because he brought to pop- 
ular attention the beautiful Vedanta Philosophy. His 
teacher, who suffered from epilepsy, died, it is said, in 
an epileptic paroxysm caused by yoga practices. Many 
of the lesser lights in this line of work are Americans 
who have adopted yoga breathing and have attempted 
for a while to teach it, but since they were not trained 
in it from childhood, the natural consequences of a dis- 
arranged body and mind more quickly followed their 
mistakes and they disappeared very soon as teachers 
from public view, leaving many wrecked lives behind 
them. 



LECTURE FIVE. 



MENTAL AND SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT. 

"And the earth (Universe) was without form, and 
void (motionless); and darkness was upon the face of 
the deep." 

Before any thing was made, God — Divine Mind — 
existed. It was and is and forever will be, Divine 
Potentiality; and It is also the Essence and the Sub- 
stance of subjective and objective things. It is of the 
Universe, and It is the Universe. It had no source, but 
It is the Source; and having never been born, It can 
never die. As Essence It is ineffable; but as Substance 
It is expressible. 

"And the Spirit of God (Divine Mind) moved upon 
the face of the waters * * * and there was light/' 

As Divine Essence, It could only be Essential Per- 
fection and Omnipresence. But as Divine Substance, 
It became substantial first as light. In Its nature It is 
fluidic and vibratory. In expression It became differ- 
entiated and diversified. As Omniscience It is Being: 
as Creative Gods, It became Beings. As God It is 



118 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

Mind; as men It became minds. As the Father- 
Mother, It is Consciousness. In man It became intui- 
tion; in the animal It became instinct, and in the plant 
It was and is consciousness. 

Evolution, with its various and variable manifested 
modes of expression, is the machinery that moves the 
Universe, and will, in its various aspects, is the pro- 
pelling force that moves evolution. With the Celestial, 
Creative Beings, this force manifests as Divine Will. 
With man it becomes differentiated into two aspects. 
In the subjective mind it becomes individual will, while 
in man's objective mind it becomes individual desire. 
With animals, this force manifests as animal desire, and 
with all kinds of plant life it manifests as sub-conscious 
desire. 

With its sub-conscious desire for greater freedom, 
better protection and more warmth, the tiny life germ 
in the heart of a seed bursts its confining limitations 
and sends forth, into the magnetic, mineralized soil 
below it, the fiberous roots that will serve as a conduit 
for the elements it sub-consciously needs. And as the 
tiny roots reach farther and deeper into the warm, 
damp soil, the dependent little seed seems to nestle 
closer and closer into the earth's maternal bosom, until 
it is completely covered. And there it receives the 
warmth and protection it sub-consciously desires. And 
when these demands have been freely and fully met, 
then it is the same sub-conscious desire — this time for 



Mental and Spiritual Development. 119 

greater freedom — that causes it to send into the atmos- 
phere above the soil another means by which its further 
needs may be supplied. This time the means are not 
the cylindrical, porous roots that may serve only as 
tubes through which moisture and fertalized nutrition 
shall be drawn, but it is something not unlike a tiny 
sail, and is an emblem of its coming freedom. 

The sail is tightly furled when it first appears and 
thus it remains until it begins to feel the sun's light 
and heat, and then, sub-consciously, it gradually un- 
furls and, like a cup, it holds itself in readiness to receive 
the rain-drops and the dew as well as all the sunshine it 
can get. For these things are as necessary to its main- 
tenance as are the chemicals it draws from out the 
soil. And when it has reached a point in its develop- 
ment where it must fulfil its paternal mission, that same 
sub-conscious desire which first caused it to become 
established as a plant puts forth the tiny buds and blos- 
soms and then the fruit, which bears within its heart 
the seed for more sub-consciousnesses to ensoul. By 
reason of its accumulated strength, gained through 
maintaining individualized form for many years, out of 
sub-consciousness, consciousness is born. And since 
desire can only be where consciousness exists, and since 
desire becomes intensified as consciousness gains 
strength, sub-conscious desire becomes desire, and, 
through its propelling force, brings sub-consciousness to 



120 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

be expressed in greater and still higher forms of con- 
sciousness. 1 

It was the sub-conscious desire for better protection 
and more warmth that caused the life germ in the seed 
to reach down into the soil, and it was the same sub- 
conscious desire for greater freedom which caused it 
to send its green cups above the soil and into the sun- 
light. As its sub-conscious desire grew, still greater 
freedom was its constant demand, until, after many 
years of limitation as a plant, the time came when it 
was strong enough to be born into a higher form, and 
thus it came into a realization of its sub-conscious 
demand for greater freedom. 

In insect life sub-consciousness becomes a lower form 
of consciousness and ensouls whole swarms of tiny 
forms. For example, the sub-consciousness of a decay- 
ing shrub will be sufficient to ensoul a thousand ants 
that will work and build their hills while controlled by 
the conscious desire of the swarm. Each ant depends 
upon the swarm consciousness and upon itself to do its 
part of the whole, and in this new form receives the 
freedom it desired as a shrub; and thus the ant or lower 
state of consciousness is born. In the higher form as 
animal, the lower consciousness of the swarm has given 
way and, out of it, independent animal desire is 
born. Its consciousness has grown in strength until now 



iThe History and Power of Mind, pp. 69-71. 



Mental and Spiritual Development. 121 

it may be called a mind, because it independently thinks 
and has a voice and can express its thoughts in acts as 
well as sounds. It also has a greater freedom than it 
had as a swarm of ants, for with its growth desire has 
also grown, and where once its needs were few they 
now have multiplied to many. Where once it stood a 
shrub, content to be alone, it now demands companions 
and possessions. Like the swarm of ants, it desires an 
abiding place, but now it also wants a mate. It loves 
and hates and desires to rule its kind. Conscious of 
itself, it desires to provide for self regardless of the 
wants or needs of others: and here another quality 
appears. Instinct is born of individual consciousness 
with animal desire for its sire, and instinct helps to 
improve and preserve the animal form and to continue 
its existence until it reaches man's estate. 

And when the objective mind or animal soul has be- 
come endowed with the subjective mind or im- 
mortal soul, it is at this point in the evolution 
of the lower mind that conscience appears to do 
its work. At first it seems to be not larger, nor 
stronger, nor of more importance than the tiny glow 
worm, which is sometimes seen among the weeds and 
grasses, on a summer evening. And like the glow worm, 
conscience at first can only flash a faint light into the 
darkness of man's animal soul, and then only for a mo- 
ment does it attract, for it cannot hold his attention. 
But when it has become enthroned in the animal man's 



122 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

soul it continues to flash and flame its immortal light 
upon his every thought and act. With every advantage 
gained it gains in strength until it becomes to him not 
only a light but a "still small voice," which, though 
so faint and weak at first that it can but whisper, yet 
in the innermost chamber of his mind it tells him truths 
which his dearest friend or boldest enemy dare not tell. 
It never pays him false compliments nor seeks to pal- 
liate his sins with soft and gentle words. It calls his 
vices by their proper names and shows him mental 
pictures of the crimes he has committed. 

Many persons believe that conscience is the voice of 
God speaking to man, directing his actions and reprov- 
ing his mistakes. And many believe that if he becomes 
conscienceless he has "grieved the Spirit," and It has left 
him; or in the language of the Church, he has 
"sinned away his day of grace." There are others who 
believe that conscience is mind and think that it mani- 
fests in domestic animals, and especially in their own 
particular pets. If conscience were mind alone it would 
be possessed by wild beasts as well as by domesticated 
creatures, for mind, or the power to think, is not con- 
fined exclusively to animals that have been blest by their 
association with man. 

The occultist would say that the faculty which seems 
to resemble conscience in the animal is instinct, which 
is really the mother of conscience. The animal has a 
memory of its past mistakes and their consequent pun- 



Mental and Spiritual Development. 123 

ishments, and remembers the pain it suffered in con- 
nection with the acts which produced the pain; and it 
is the desire for self preservation and the fear of a repe- 
tition of suffering which prevents it from repeating 
again and again the same mistakes. But conscience is 
born of animal instinct with a Son of God for its sire. 
It is the mental product or mental result of the asso- 
ciation of an animal mind and its instinct with its 
subjective mind, and is to that mind what thought is to 
both minds. It is a tool, an instrument which the sub- 
jective mind uses in its work of conquering and edu- 
cating its lower mind. 

An infant conscience, like any other infant, is born 
very weak and small, and in the beginning sleeps much 
of its time. But after being fed upon the nutritious 
food of experience, which it draws through its mother 
instinct, it gradually grows larger and stronger, and 
where, to the undeveloped man, it whispers so faintly 
that he sometimes does not hear its words above the 
din and furor he is making, to the advanced man, to 
him who has consciously claimed his Divine Heritage, 
it speaks in thunderous tones. 

With many persons the emotion sympathy is often 
mistaken for conscience, and because of this mistake 
many times man's reason and judgment are swept aside, 
and, while he believes he is following the dictates of his 
conscience, he is really permitting his emotions to 
direct his actions. Like passion, sympathy is a tremen- 



124 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation, 

dous force, and if it be not controlled by wisdom, and if 
it is permitted to have full sway, it often causes men to 
make mistakes the results of which will require many 
lives of suffering to correct. 

It is sympathy and not conscience which creates the 
sentiment that causes war and raises armies of men for 
the purpose of fighting with such of their fellows as do 
not agree with them in principle. It was sympathy for 
the Southern slave which created the unconscientious 
sentiment that brought the men of the Northern and 
Southern portions of the United States into battle. 
And when those battles were at their height it was 
another emotion, called patriotism, which caused the 
men of one nation — brothers of one family — to com- 
mit crimes against each other, which, under normal 
mental conditions, they would never have done. During 
the din and excitement of battle the voice of conscience 
is never heard; but when the confusion is ended and the 
wounded or dying soldier lies upon the battlefield 
alone with God, he then has time to listen to his con- 
science, which says: 

"After all, there is no real satisfaction in knowing 
that you have killed other men, who, perhaps, had 
wives and children who loved them as dearly as yours 
love you. You are not a hero, but in God's sight, be- 
cause you have taken lives which you cannot restore 
and which are as precious to Him as is your own, you 
are a murderer. And some time you will be brought 



Mental and Spiritual Development. 125 

face to face with the souls you have so recklessly and 
needlessly sent out of life." 

The men who rush to hang the trembling wretch, 
who, in a moment of uncontrolled animal passion, has 
outraged a member of their community, are not act- 
uated by their consciences to commit a crime as great 
as that of the man they are seeking to punish. For, like 
the frightened wretch they wish to kill, they, too, are 
controlled by their emotions, and the only difference be- 
tween the actuating causes of the two crimes is the dif- 
ference in sentiment which controls the perpetrators. 
The first crime was caused by the emotion called sexual 
passion, and the last one was caused by the passion 
called anger, which had its birth in sympathy for the 
outraged member of their community. Anger and sex- 
ual passion both belong to the lowest, darkest shade of 
the red cosmic current, into which the punished and the 
punishers had fallen. But after the victim of the mob's 
passion had paid with his life the penalty the mob de- 
manded, and when the men who sent him out of physi- 
cal life had time to listen to their consciences, each 
man found the picture of his victim photographed upon 
his mind, and it mattered not which way he turned to 
avoid it, that awful slight turned with him. If he woke 
suddenly in the night, it was there and he had to see it 
in all its dreadful details. It rose between him and the 
faces of his dear ones, and even at the moment when he 
was boastfully telling of the manner in which he helped 



12& From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

I 

to rid the country of an outlaw, his conscience was say- 
ing: "You know you are as great a criminal as the man 
you helped to kill." 

It is not conscience which actuates the sheriff to ad- 
just the rope around the neck of a murderer and then 
step upon the spring which unlocks the trap beneath 
the feet of his victim. His objective mind may tem- 
porarily convince him that his act is a noble one, and 
that he is really a public benefactor. But when he has 
entered into his closet and has shut the door between 
himself and the outside world; when all the excitement 
and publicity has passed, then it is the voice of con- 
science which says to him: 

"You are a murderer, too, and have committed as 
great a crime as that of the man you killed. The emo- 
tion which actuated his sin was anger, while yours was 
greed.. He killed the man who he believed had wronged 
him, while you killed him because you were hired to do 
it by the State. You are a hired assassin and are no 
better than the highwayman who shoots and kills his 
victim for the money he may have in his pocket. You 
strangled this man for the paltry sum the State offered 
to you for doing its bloody work." And then one of 
two things will occur. Either the sheriff will resign his 
position as public executioner and go into a better busi- 
ness or he will refuse to listen to his conscience and 
will continue to kill the men whom the State orders 
him to kill. If he chooses the latter then the voice of 



Mental and Spiritual Development. 127 

his conscience will gradually grow fainter and weaker 
until it will finally become silent, and as a consequence 
the animal nature of that man will grow morally worse 
and sink lower and lower into brutality until it becomes 
so gross that its subjective mind will be obliged to aban- 
don it to its fate; for a conscienceless man is indeed a 
lost animal soul, and, without the enlightening power of 
its subjective mind, will continue in the downward path 
to ultimate destruction. 1 ' 

Some one may ask: "If conscience is what the 
occultist says it is; if every individual conscience is the 
offspring of a Son of God, why are not all consciences 
alike? Why is not the conscience of a black cannibal 
in the wilds of Africa as reproving as the conscience of a 
Tolstoi or of a Gladstone?" 

The occultist would say the black cannibal belongs 
to the first race of animal men in which the Sons of 
God incarnated upon earth, and the animal natures of 
the first races were so strong that they ruled their 
higher or subjective minds through many reincarna- 
tions. And it was not until those higher minds had suf- 
fered the painful consequences of obeying the dicta- 
tions of their lower minds that they learned to struggle 
for the supremacy. The subjective mind of a Gladstone 
or a Tolstoi has had many more experiences than has 
that of the black cannibal, because it came to earth 
among the first group of incarnating egos while the 
black man was among the last of the subjective minds 



128 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

or souls who came. The soul who wore the personality 
of a Tolstoi or of a Gladstone has reincarnated more 
times than has the soul of the cannibal. Because of its 
mistakes the advanced soul has seen continents sink 
beneath the sea, and because of its ignorance and 
wrong doing it has been swept out of material life again 
and again by earthquakes and by cataclysms. It has also 
suffered torture at the hands of its fellowmen until it 
has learned to command instead of obey its own lower 
mind. Where once it whispered to its animal nature 
through the voice of an infant conscience, it now speaks 
in the commanding tone of a conscious soul, and as a 
Tolstoi or a Gladstone its reproofs are listened to by 
other objective minds as well as by its own. 

Acting under the dictation of its conscience, mankind 
has evolved to a condition where it begins to under- 
stand life's problems from a higher mental plane than 
that of the animal mind; and, as man's objective mind 
becomes subservient to his subjective mind, the animal 
instinct merges into intuition, and animal desire be- 
comes absorbed by individual will. At this point, man, 
conscious of his heritage as a Son of God, begins to 
claim some of his powers and privileges. In religion he 
has begun to claim his divine right to think for himself 
i and to worship as suits him best. And instead of con- 
tinuing under the dominion of the Church and under 
the direction of its so-called holy men, he decides to 
accept only such truths as appeal to him as truths. 



Mental and Spiritual Development. 129 

'Sometimes he stands forth from among his f ellowmen 
as a moralist and refuses to recognize the need of either 
church or religious society to help him keep in the path 
of rectitude. And he declares that he will live according 
to the light of conscience, and not according to the man 
made creeds and dogmas of the Church, and it is at this 
point in his evolution, if he makes the most of his op- 
portunities, that he will become fitted for a higher spir- 
itual life, for this is the intermediate stage between the 
animal and spiritual man. 

When old institutions are forced to give way to new, 
there are always many things said and done on either 
side which are to be regretted; and when the men and 
women who felt that they could no longer conscien- 
tiously indorse or subscribe to the creeds of the Church, 
and for that reason stepped outside that ancient and 
crumbling institution, they, and the ethical societies 
which they formed, were anathematized by their former 
religious associates. When first they boldly declared 
themselves to be doers of good for the sake of good, and 
not for Jesus's sake or for the sake of future heavenly 
rewards, or because of the fear of future punishment, 
many of their religious friends declared that all their 
ethical societies were but cesspools of iniquity, and that 
they, themselves, were infidels. Many names, from 
among this class of courageous souls, were dropped 
from the visiting lists of those who still continued to 
worship an anthropomorphic God and to fear a cloven 



130 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

footed devil. Some of the more kindly disposed of the 
church people felt that it was necessary to go in search 
of the lost sheep, and many made it a religious duty to 
call upon and "labor with" those early seceders; and they 
spent much time and some patience in their efforts to 
bring back to the sacred fold of the Church the wander- 
ing few. 1 But returning to the Church after having tasted 
the freedom of thought and the freedom of speech that 
are accorded to the independent moralist would be like 
the half grown birds returning to the nest where they 
were hatched. It was an impossible thing to accomplish, 
and proved to be a "labor lost" for the anxious souls 
who undertook the task. But what seemed to the 
Church to be a sad misfortune really proved to be a 
blessing in disguise, because, after a time, the liberality 
of thought and speech of its ex-members began to have 
a broadening effect upon such of their Church friends 
as would listen to their views. And the result was that 
many of the creeds and dogmas of the Church have 
been revised and many of the objectionable and unrea- 
sonable tenets have been eliminated. 

No longer does the congregation of the modern 
Church hear of infant damnation, and the Calvinistic 
theory of fore-ordination is now never touched upon in 
the pulpit by any of the modern clergymen. This great 
change and improvement has been brought about by 



»Mata the Magician, pp. 176-182. 



Mental and Spiritual Development. 131 

the advanced thought as expressed by the independent 
moralist, the members of the ethical societies, the Men- 
tal and Christian Scientists, and the advanced thinkers 
who refuse to wear the label of any "ism" or "ist." This 
has indeed become the "Age of Reason," which Thomas 
Paine foresaw and wrote about so many years ago; and 
it is also the age of mental power for the progressive 
man, who now begins to realize the fact that he must 
become the master of his mind before he can reach the 
spiritual plane of thought. He finds that his physical 
and mental environment must be controlled before he 
can enter into the realm of spirit. 

On his way toward spirituality man finds many ave- 
nues which, since he has become an independent 
thinker, seem necessary to explore. If while in his unde- 
veloped state he had become a psychic, and was con- 
scious of the faces and of the forms of earthbound souls 
who could not get away from the material plane, he may 
now, with his knowledge and power of mind, become 
clairvoyant and see the planes of being and the souls 
who have passed beyond the earth. And where once he 
only heard the confused murmurings of the psychic 
plane nearest the earth, he may now, with his increased 
power, become clairaudient and listen to the music of 
the spheres. 

/The Century Dictionary defines clairvoyance as a 
power attributed to persons in a mesmeric state by 
which they are supposed to discern objects concealed 



132 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

from sight, and to see what is happening at a distance. 
It also defines clairaudience as the supposed power of 
hearing, in a mesmeric trance, sounds which are not 
audible to the ear in a waking state. Both of these defi- 
nitions are confusing because each makes the clairvoy- 
ant and clairaudient condition dependent upon the sub- 
ject being in a mesmeric state — which statement is un- 
true. The individual who is dependent upon being mes- 
merized by another, in order to function upon any sub- 
jective plane, is neither a clairvoyant nor a clairaudient. 
He is simply a psychic and his statements are not to be 
relied upon, because, while under the influence of anoth- 
er, his mind is under the mental control of another 
mind and his vision is likely to be imperfect and to be 
colored by the thoughts and perhaps by the mistaken 
beliefs of the mesmerist. He sees, as it were, through 
another's spectacles, which perhaps are not at all fitted 
to his eyes. He also may hear or think he hears what 
the mesmerist hopes, wishes or believes he will hear. 

But the independent clairvoyant is one who has puri- 
fied his life and has raised the vibrations of his body 
and brain to a point where his material vehicle is no 
longer a veil for soul, and therefore he is no longer 
blinded by it. In order to develop or improve his clair- 
voyant vision he takes the time, during his devotional 
hours, to draw from the cosmic currents surrounding 
the earth the forces which were placed there solely for 
his benefit, and which will increase the rate of vibra- 



Mental and Spiritual Development. 133 

tion of his brain and of also the psychic centres within 
it. Commencing with the cosmic blue he concentrates 
upon it until it is drawn like a great cloud about him, 
and while he rests and bathes in this great force he 
watches the psychic centres in his brain as they vibrate 
higher and stronger under its vivifying power. Com- 
mencing with the shade of cosmic blue which he can use 
most easily, through concentration, he gradually raises 
the shade to higher and higher rates until it fades into 
the next higher color, the yellow. And then he draws 
the golden yellow to himself and basks in its uplifting 
spiritual light until his brain has had all that it can bear 
and demands a rest. Then the wise individual will sleep 
for a few moments, and when he wakes again he will be 
greatly strengthened and uplifted in both body and 
mind, and he will also find that in time his clairvoyant 
vision is cleared and strengthened by the experience. 

He is now at a point in his development where he 
may demand to be omniscient and omnipotent; and 
when his demands are answered and the spiritual forces 
come sweeping through him from the higher planes of 
being, for a little time, he may become unconscious of 
the trials and sorrows of physical life and in the great 
Beyond commune with souls who have preceded him 
on their evolutionary journey. If he is sufficiently puri- 
fied he may be able to see or to visit the third or even 
the fourth plane of spiritual consciousness while his 
physical body rests quietly awaiting his return. And he 



134 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

may be permitted to participate for a few hours in the 
happiness of some of the souls who dwell in that beau- 
tiful place. 

Happiness is attained through spiritual growth and 
is not the result of a gratification of the desires for ma- 
terial things; and spirituality, in its different degrees, is 
gained only through becoming positively good and pos- 
itively pure. It is the glory surrounding wisdom as sun- 
light is the glory surrounding the sun, and is never the 
result of negativeness or of ignorance. 

On this material plane it is often said of a slender, 
pale faced, negatively good woman, ''She is spiritual." 
But a careful interview with the so-called "spiritual" 
person, discloses the fact that her spirituality is but a 
potentiality which will require many lives filled with 
trying and perhaps bitter experiences to actualize. It is 
to the confounding of the word spirit with ghost that 
this mistake is largely due. Since the story of the Witch 
of Endor was written, mankind has believed that alf 
ghosts were spirits and that a soul became a spirit as 
soon as its material body was laid aside. It is by mis- 
taken analogy that men have founded this belief con- 
cerning persons. Because a ghost is supposed to be tall, 
slender and white, it has become a general belief that 
height and pallor and a willowy form were spiritual 
requisites, and that without them it was impossible to 
be or to become spiritual. Knowing this to be a race 
belief, many persons of both sexes who are in the pos- 



Mental and Spiritual Development. 135 

session of these indications of physical imperfections 
have used them with the credulous public to trade upon. 

The tall, cadaverous clergyman who rises to his full 
height of six feet in the pulpit, and waves his long, thin 
arms above his head while he solemnly denounces sin 
and sinners, often awakens more reverence in the hearts 
of the people of his congregation than does the short, 
stout, rosy faced man whose head and shoulders but 
just appear above that sacred desk while he teaches 
that men should not do unto others what they would 
not want others to do unto them. Forty-nine persons 
out of every fifty who helped to compose the congrega- 
tion of the cadaverous clergyman would declare him to 
be a "spiritual man," notwithstanding his bitterness 
and vituperous denunciations, and not one would ever 
think of attributing spirituality to the pleasant faced, 
smiling little pastor who tried to teach them a basic 
principle of life. Yet in point of fact he was a long step 
further along in his development than the other one, 
and was much nearer to gaining spirituality, because he 
had love in his heart while the other had nothing but 
vindictiveness in his heart and ecclesiastical doctrines 
and creeds in his head. 

And among the members of churches and religious 
societies there are many persons whose stock in trade 
is their pallor and their long, bony bodies. They pose 
before the world as "spiritual," because of their resem- 
blance to ghosts, and, if they lecture, or heal, or teach, 



136 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

or if they are psychics they too command a reverence 
and respect for a spirituality which they do not possess 
or know nothing of as yet. Many women who are nega- 
tively good because they have not been tempted, or 
have not had an opportunity in this life to go wrong, are 
called "spiritual" by those who do not know that only 
a soul is spiritual who has gained wisdom by over- 
coming its animal nature. According to the occultists 
a spiritual person is one whose intuition has become 
awakened, and whose will has absorbed its desire; one 
who has become purified through suffering and who is 
good because he loves goodness more than anything 
else in the Universe; one who tells the truth because it 
is true; and is pure because he loves purity and not be- 
cause he fears a present or a future punishment. 

To the clairvoyant vision of such a one the spiritual 
planes of being are opened and it receives what it has 
earned for its labors. It has fought its way back to 
its Divine Heritage, and, as a prodigal Son of God, re- 
ceives its share of Omniscience and Omnipotence. 

Between the spiritual and material planes is the 
mental plane, and it is as impossible for man to become 
spiritual before his mental powers are developed as it 
is for a dog to speak English. The intelligent dog may 
know that there is such a thing as language, and he may 
be able to understand the few words which he is mosf 
accustomed to hear spoken, but he has not the power 
of speech nor will he gain that power, until he has 



Mental and Spiritual Development. 1ST 

evolved to the point where he can become enlightened 
by a subjective mind of his own. It is true that his de- 
velopment may be hastened by his association with 
men, and that through an intelligent method of train- 
ing he may gain much more rapidly than he would if 
left to evolve by himself. But he will never speak a 
word until he becomes a human being, and it would be 
folly to expect him to. And in a like manner it is impos- 
sible for animal man to become spiritual man until his 
mental powers have been developed to a point which 
makes him receptive to spiritual things. 

Spirituality is composed of three attributes, Omnis- 
cience, Omnipotence and Omnipresence, and unless a 
soul has acquired, to a greater or lesser degree, some- 
thing of the first two he cannot claim to be a spiritual 
soul. The first attribute of spirituality to be gained is 
Omniscience, which means to have gained all knowl- 
edge. A soul must know how to act before it can act 
wisely: and in order to gain and possess something of 
this spiritual attribute, man's power of concentration 
must be increased until he can place his thoughts upon 
something besides himself and hold them there until he 
has mentally absorbed the knowledge he desired con- 
cerning that thing. How can a man be or become in 
any degree Omniscient, when his power of concentra- 
tion is so weak that he cannot hold his thoughts for five 
consecutive minutes on a single subject? 



138 From Incarnation to Reincarnation, 

Omnipotence is the next higher attribute of spirit- 
uality and means to have all power. To gain or possess 
Omnipotence, in any degree, man must at least be able 
to concentrate upon and use the spiritual cosmic forces 
blue and yellow, and he must have evolved to a point of 
development where he can demonstrate over disease and 
disharmony in his own mind and also, at least tempo- 
rarily, remove it from the bodies and minds of others. 
He must possess enough Omnipotence to give him 
power over his own lower nature and power to control 
his own environment. And after he has gained this at- 
tribute in ever so small a degree he will never again 
become a victim of circumstances nor an object of char- 
ity. 

Omnipresence means to be everywhere present at 
the same time, and this is the last aspect of spirituality. 
It also can be gained only through mental development 
and spiritual power. To become capable of being every- 
where present a mind must be untrammelled by form 
and must become one with Divine Mind. It must have 
lost its desire for individuality and become absorbed by 
the Universal Principle. To the Western Occultist this 
aspect of spirituality is not a desirable ultimate to be at- 
tained, and, since greater and higher individualization 
is the goal to which they aspire, they never demand 
Omnipresence. To the students of the Eastern school of 
Occultism, however, to gain Nirvana and Omnipresence 
is to reach the highest condition of spiritual happiness 



Mental and Spiritual Development. 139 

that can be gained in the Universe; and some demand 
and receive it. This spiritual condition is very beauti- 
fully described in 'The Light of Asia," in "Book the 
Eighth," where it says: 

"No need hath such to live as ye name life; 

That which began in him when he began 
Is finished; he hath wrought the purpose through 

Of what did make him man. 

Never shall yearnings torture him, nor sins 
Stain him, nor ache of earthly joys and woes 

Invade his safe eternal peace; nor death 
And lives recur. He goes 

Unto Nirvana. He is one with Life 
Yet lives not. He is blest, ceasing to be. 

Om, mani padme om! the dewdrop slips 
Into the shining sea!" 

For the utterly tired soul who feels that to be re- 
absorbed and thus be able to forever rest in the bosom of 
the Infinite, without. an individual care or responsibility, 
Omnipresence is the necessary spiritual attribute to de- 
mand in order to reach that state. But it is never well to 
make that demand until a soul has gained Omniscience, 
in order that it may know all things, and Omnipotence, 
in order that it may have all power, and thus be able to 
decide its fate without prejudice or passion. 



LECTURE SIX. 



FOCUSING FORCES. 

Since at the present time the scientists of the world 
are at loggerheads about the actual construction of the 
atom; and since, because of never having seen one, they 
are uncertain whether it is really the smallest division 
of matter, or whether it is a corpuscle composed of still 
smaller divisions, as a preliminary explanation, and for 
the purpose of avoiding future controversy or criticism 
the position of the Occultist will now be defined before 
proceeding further with these lectures. 

In Occultism the word atom has always meant the 
smallest division of matter 1 ; and as regards the future, 
so long as the English language continues to be spoken, 
the Occultist will call that infinitesimal division of sub- 
stance by its original name. And it will make no differ- 
ence how often the men of science advance beyond or 
recede from their present or future positions, or whether 



The History and Power of Mind, pp. 38-39; 41-42. 



142 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

they call the atom an ion, a corpuscle, an electrical in- 
visible or some other name, to the Occultist it is and 
will be an atom. 

Everything from the greatest and most sublime to 
the smallest and most insignificant center of conscious- 
ness is generating and possesses powers which manifest, 
in its individual radius or sphere, as attraction and re- 
pulsion. And whether a center belongs to the construc- 
tive or destructive side of nature depends upon its mode 
of manifestation. If it manifests as attraction more 
than repulsion then it is more constructive than de- 
structive. If it manifests more as repulsion than attrac- 
tion then it is more destructive than constructive. To 
the working of the law of evolution, however, both man- 
ifestations are equally essential in order that progres- 
sion may be constant and continuous, since it is abso- 
lutely necessary that old forms of expression should be 
destroyed to make room for new forms which will con- 
tinue to exist after the old ones have finished serving 
the purposes for which they were created. 

Before power of either a constructive or destructive 
nature can be generated its center or basis of force must 
be formed; and, paradoxical as it may seem, it is never- 
theless a truth that while the forming of a center is ab- 
solutely necessary to the generation of force, yet the 
generation of force is also the direct cause of the center 
it manifests through. The atom is an individual center 
of force; and, like all other centers, whether great or 



Focusing Forces. 143 

small, has two distinct motions, which are rotary and 
elliptical. And without these two motions it would be 
utterly impossible for God — Divine Mind — to be fully 
expressed in Its various and varied forms of manifesta- 
tion. For the generation of power a center is dependent 
upon its rotary motion. But for the expression or 
manifestation of power, whether it be constructive or de- 
structive, it is dependent upon its elliptical motion. 
And both these motions are directly due to the vibra- 
tions which were generated by Divine Will in the be- 
ginning of this Cosmic Day or period of evolution. 

Vibration came into existence through the mental 
demand or command: "Let there be light. ,, And vibra- 
tion will continue until the last moment of this period 
of evolution has come and until God — Divine Mind — 
desires rest. Then the demand or command, "Peace, 
be still," will go forth throughout the Universe, and 
gradually the vibratory and the rotary motion of the 
greatest centers of force in the heavens will begin to 
decrease; and as vibration in them diminishes their 
light will begin to fade. With a diminution of their 
constructive or rotary motion their elliptical motion will 
also cease. And with the cessation of all motion or vi- 
bration there can no longer be a magnetic attraction 
between them and any other existing bodies or centers. 
Under these conditions the planets in the various 
systems will no longer continue to revolve around 
their respective centers or suns. They will no longer be 



144 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

attracted or repelled by each other, and each part com- 
posing the planet'will no longer be attracted or repelled 
by other parts, and thus the manifested portion of 
the Universe will again become reduced to primordial 
substance. 1 

The coming of this great change is tersely described 
in Matthew, twenty-fourth chapter and twenty-ninth 
verse, where it says: "In those days shall the sun be 
darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and 
the stars shall fall (disappear) from heaven, and the 
powers of the heavens shall be shaken." And it is in 
this manner that the next Cosmic Night will come on. 

Since it is a law of the Supreme Consciousness to rest 
equally as long as it labors, the Cosmic Nights are of as 
great a length as are the Cosmic Days, and thus for eons 
will the Universe be at rest without a ripple or a wave 
within that Sea of Unconsciousness, until the time shall 
come for another period of evolution to be born; and 
then the command will again go forth for light, and 
again will the greater and smaller centers of force be 
roused from their inactivity. "In the place where the 
tree falleth there it shall be," and in the place where a 
powerful center of force ceased to vibrate, there it re- 
mains in a fluidic, primordial condition, awaiting the 
Divine Summons to start within it the vibratory force 



The History and Power of Mind, p. 100. 



I 



Focusing Forces. 145 

which will make it possible for it to again assume a form 
and to fulfill its mission in the Universe. 1 

As an illustration of the manner in which constructive 
and destructive forces are used in the construction and 
destruction of worlds, a few pages will be quoted from 
the diary of an advanced student of Occultism, who, 
with his Master's assistance, was enabled to leave his 
physical body, and while thus liberated was permitted 
to study cosmogony from the standpoint of a tempo- 
rarily disembodied soul. 

"When first I slipped from my body as the letter slips 
from its envelope I was conscious of standing beside my 
material vehicle and of looking down upon it as it lay 
helpless and apparently a corpse before me. At first I 
experienced a shock of surprise, and then a slight feeling 
of alarm; but upon looking closely I found that my body 
was still breathing faintly, and I also saw that the heart 
was beating slowly. Somewhat reassured, I turned 
toward my Master, who was waiting for me to accom- 
pany him into space. He, too, had liberated himself 
from his physical body and stood before me in all the 
glory of a Spiritual Being. And, as I gazed at Him in 
this new condition, for the first time since commencing 
my studies in Occultism, did I fully realize what soul 
freedom meant. Then, as He reached out a hand to 
me and said: 'Come,' it seemed as if I was suddenly 



The History and Power of Mind, p. 102. 



146 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

filled with a tremendous force, and at that moment I 
realized that I was tasting of the glory of Omniscience 
and of Omnipotence. When I touched His hand I 
seemed to expand in size, and where once my aura had 
only extended for about a foot beyond the confining 
limitations of my rather undersized physical body, now, 
while holding to His hand, I seemed to almost fill the 
little room I called my den. Full of this new force, I 
rose like a balloon in midair, and for a few moments we 
remained suspended over the housetops of the city. 
And while we paused and looked downward, I saw the 
members of my family and many of my friends going 
about their duties, unconscious of the fact that roofs 
and walls were not able to hide them from the eyes of 
a Soul. This was my first spiritual object lesson, and I 
decided then never again in the privacy (?) of my room 
to do anything which I would be ashamed to do in the 
presence of a friend. 

"After this — to me — very important decision was 
made, we rose again to a distance of perhaps a thousand 
feet, and there we paused and again looked down upon 
the old world that was rolling so rapidly beneath us. 
As we journeyed I watched the towns and villages and 
cities of the North American Continent pass below us 
like a panorama; and finally I saw the Pacific Ocean 
and the Orient, and then my study in topography was 
suddenly interrupted by a change in our movements. 
I then became conscious of whizzing through space 



Focusing Forces. 147 

with the speed of the wind. Looking downward, I saw 
the earth a diminishing ball, and it was apparently sink- 
ing away from me. We had entered another atmos- 
phere. The atmosphere of the earth, through which 
we had been passing, had disappeared, and after a time 
we became surrounded by billions of brilliant, scintil- 
lating particles which were whirling, floating, sweeping 
and eddying in all directions. That part of space 
seemed to be completely filled with that strange sub- 
stance, and, in answer to my mental question of what it 
was, I was impressed with the thought that this was 
what the scientists called 'cosmic dust.' It was formed 
into great clouds of vibrating atoms, which were plainly 
visible to the eye of Soul, and which were being drawn 
into a common center. 1 

"After passing through clouds and clouds of the bil- 
lowy stuff we withdrew to a distance and watched the 
tremendous forces at work upon it. At a point in space, 
so far above us that it seemed to be very little larger 
than the world which we had left, was a brilliant spot in 
the heavens, and out of it were pouring great floods of 
what seemed to be rays of electric light, and the focus- 
ing point for all those rays was in the center of the mass 
of scintillating atoms before us. In response to my 
mental question regarding the nature of that wondrous 
center of light, my Master replied: That is a group of 



The History and Power of Mind, p. 105. 



148 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

Celestial Beings, sometimes called Planetary Spirits, and 
they are now focusing their forces upon this their crea- 
tion. As a group they generate the power which they 
send forth in those great constructive streams which 
look like electric light; and if you will carefully observe 
you will see that when those streams strike this point in 
space, the distance has been so well estimated that if 
they did not focus and form a center here, they would 
each form an elliptical circuit and return to the centers 
from which they emanated. But, meeting as they do 
at this point, another center of force is formed here, 
and because of the rapid vibrations of those particles of 
substance, and because of the rotary motion given to the 
entire mass, a vortex is formed, which, by its own gener- 
ating power, will continue to draw to itself more and 
more of the detached floating atoms that are within its 
radius.' 

"The scene before me was beautiful and wonderful, 
yet awful, for I was looking upon a throbbing, pulsat- 
ing mass of brilliant cosmic dust. Above, below, be- 
yond as far as I could see were mountainous heaps of 
that silvery, foamy substance. Sometimes it seemed 
like great clouds of steam with prismatic coloring 
thrown upon it by calcium lights, or they assumed the 
hue of smoke and curled and twisted like huge serpents 
in a fearful embrace. Suddenly there would stream 
forth from the heaving mass sharp, red, forked tongues 
of fire, which blazed fiercely for a time and then disap- 



Focusing Forces. 149 

peared, to be replaced by banks of billowy cloud, while 
in deep diapason tones, first crescendo and then diminu- 
endo, I heard something that sounded like the vibrating 
notes from innumerable pipe organs. Where the music 
came from I did not know, but it seemed to have been 
produced by the will of some great Master of harmony; 
and as though the thought had been put into my mind, 
I realized that at this point was being generated a 
center of force which in the course of future ages would 
become a terrestrial globe, and this strange sound was 
the 'music of the spheres' that I had read about but had 
never before heard. 

"Then I suddenly became conscious of a sound like 
hissing steam, and of a shrieking of the elements as if a 
great wind were blowing and as if a storm were rising. 
In the distance I saw a blazing ball of fire coming 
toward us. Behind it was a brilliant train of fiery 
sparks; and as it approached I saw the flash of jagged 
lightning and heard the peal of thunder. My Master 
said: 'You are about to witness the grandest spectacle 
ever seen in the heavens. There will be the coalescing 
of a destructive comet with this conglomerate mass of 
cosmic dust/ 

"The fiery monster looked to me like a horrible 
dragon, with body, head and legs a mass of sulphurous 
flame. The creature seemed to fill the whole heavens, 
and for a time obscured everything else from sight. It 
swept everything before it and drew everything behind 



150 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

it. I could feel the intense heat it caused, and I could 
see the clouds bursting apart as if torn by angry hands 
and then cast aside, after it had passed, to melt into a 
molten mass of fire behind that monster of the skies. 
Then came a fearful report. There had been a collision 
between the comet and the new center or world, and the 
crash was awful. After that there was darkness and 
silence, and my Master quickly took me away from the 
fearful scene. But I had learned something about 
focusing forces, which was of greater importance and 
would be of more assistance to me in my studies than 
anything I had ever before witnessed." 

In the diary of the same student of Occultism from 
which the last description was quoted is another, and 
this one is concerning the destruction of an old, dead 
world, and it illustrates the operation of the destructive 
forces that may be sent from a cosmic center of con- 
sciousness quite as well as the former description illus- 
trated the operation of constructive power. Be- 
cause of the limited space allotted to a lecture, only 
such excerpts will be used as will cast light directly upon 
the subject in hand. 

"Millions of miles frqm our earth we saw a wondrous 
brilliant light, and upon advancing toward it we dis- 
covered that it was not a sun, nor moon, nor globe, nor 
was it like any planet I had ever seen. It was oblong 
or egg-shaped, and gave forth a light greater and more 
refulgent than any flaming sun in all the Universe. It 



Focusing Forces. 151 

seemed like a monster arc-lamp and there were rays of 
blue electric light streaming forth from it in all direc- 
tions, and, like the jagged lightning shooting from a 
summer thunder cloud, the destructive, forked tongues 
of its electric fire were sent forth and were divided into 
millions of flaming bolts that went speeding into space. 
And while I gazed upon it surprised and spellbound it 
suddenly, as if possessed with consciousness, drew 
within itself its dazzling light and assumed a greenish 
hue. It also shrank to half its former size, and, like a 
monster serpent, seemed to coil its forces for a spring, 
while in its center burned a dark red flame that at any 
moment was ready to burst forth and consume every- 
thing within its reach. 

"A strange attraction drew me toward the monster 
light, and I had a most intense desire to know of what 
it was composed and what its mission was; for I have 
learned that no created thing can live and move without 
a purpose. On approaching nearer, I observed that the 
strange light had been created by the burning of what 
seemed to be great quantities of hydro-carbon vapor 
and aeriform matter. Numerous strong electric cur- 
rents seemed to focus at that point and had there created 
a generating center of magnetic force. Here was a 
Celestial Dynamo, and the heat generated by the in- 
tense vibrations of those powerful electric currents had 
produced a radiation sufficient to ignite the gases. 



152 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

Combustion was the result of this focusing, and was 
followed by a wondrous pyrotechnical display which we 
were witnessing. 

"But where do those electric currents come from? I 
mentally inquired, and my Master replied: 'Look yon- 
der,' and, looking, I saw far away in the heavens an- 
other great light. It appeared to be a group, of seven 
suns, with the colors orange, red, green, blue and yellow 
radiating from it. In the center of each of these suns 
was a spot of light of the color orange which deepened 
in shade towards its outer edge until it melted into a 
band of very dark red, and the outer edge of this color 
melted into the next color, which was green. Outside 
of the green was a broad band of blue, and outside of 
that there was a band of beautiful golden yellow. And 
as I watched that group of glorious suns I saw that from 
the broad belt of red so near the center of each, streamed 
the tremendous currents of light which focused at this 
point and produced this strange looking center. This 
vortex was an evil looking thing, and, although I 
seemed to know it was destructive in its nature, still I 
was attracted toward it, and had it not been for the re- 
straining influence of my Master, I think I should have 
been inclined to approach too near. 

"When I had become satisfied in regard to the source 
of those electric currents, I next began to wonder what 
that Celestial Dynamo had been created for, and then 
my Master called my attention to a large, dark globe 



Focusing Forces. 153 

so far away at that moment that it resembled a huge 
black bird or a monster bat. But as I continued to 
watch its movements it came near enough for me to see 
that it was a planet which seemed to be idly floating in 
space as a bit of driftwood floats upon the surface of a 
stream. 

" 'May we not visit that globe or see its condition 
from a closer point of view?' I asked, and for reply my 
Master said: 'Come/ and extended a hand to me. 

"After a time we reached the queer old world and 
stood among its ruins. It was dead. There was no 
soil, no atmosphere, no life. A deathly stillness reigned; 
and on every side were dark, deep fissures, into whose 
yawning depths I looked for many hundred feet. The 
rough and rugged edges of those fissures showed that 
when that world was in the grasp of death, when its life 
forces were taking final leave of their material en- 
velope, its surface was rent and torn like thinnest 
gauze. Even its mountains were crushed and crumbled 
into hardened, blackened ash-heaps, and, as I stood 
looking at that awful scene of desolation, I saw at my 
left at a distance of a dozen yards or more a monstrous 
hole — a well — which seemed to reach to the very center 
of that globe. And its melted, lava-coated walls 
showed that it was but one of the many outlets for the 
fires and gaseous flames which had bursted forth and 
swept that old planet in its last awful conflagration. 

"Blackened and seared was everything. Not a drop 



154 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

of water was to be seen. Not a human habitation. 
Not an indication that animal or vegetable life had ever 
existed there. It was most evident that the planet had 
served its purpose, had lived its time, and, becoming 
useless, was robbed of all its wealth, and it now remained 
nothing but a huge ball of crumbling coke; for what 
was once a soil of moist earth was now a hardened 
porous crust. 

"In my intense interest I did not think there was any 
danger in our remaining upon that old sphere, and 
would have been glad to wander up and down among its 
ruins. I wanted to explore the well, and was about 
to descend into it when my Master said: 'If you are 
satisfied we will retire and watch the coming dissolution 
at a distance/ and, taking my hand, we left the place 
and stationed ourselves sufficiently far away to enable 
us to watch the destruction which seemed imminent. 
Soon we saw the old dead world commence to move in 
great, wide circles round that evil looking vortex. 
Sometimes it paused, swaying and trembling as it felt 
the drawing power of that great cosmic center. And 
then it would dart away as if for a little the attractive 
force were broken and it were free again. But then 
there came renewed activity at that flaming center of at- 
traction. It assumed a darker, redder hue, and like a 
great unwinking eye seemed to be watching for its 
helpless victim to draw near. Again the old dead 
world was caught by the attractive power of its enemy 



Focusing Forces. 155 

and was whirled round and round like a tiny boat within 
a boiling maelstrom. With every revolution it gradual- 
ly drew nearer and nearer to the fiery center until there 
was a terrific roaring sound like a thousand cataracts 
blended into one. At times the noise was like the 
booming of a fearful cannonade. Sometimes there 
seemed to be something like shrieking, bursting shells 
sent forth from that fiery center, and then again there 
were streams of jagged lightning which sent destructive 
bolts of fire and smashed the surface of that globe as if 
it were an eggshell. 

"It was Celestial war that we were witnessing, and if 
all the battles that were ever fought upon our tiny earth 
were to be combined into one it could not compare 
with this. As we watched its progress I remembered 
what was written in the Book of Revelations, in the 
twelfth chapter, and the seventh verse: 'And there 
appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great 
red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns * * * 
and his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven 
and did cast them to the earth/ 

"Here were destructive forces at work, and while we 
watched and listened to the fearful, crushing, grinding 
sound they made, the dark red center of light turned to 
almost black, and then there came the final awful crash. 
It seemed as if the whole heavens had become suddenly 
rilled with sulphurous fire; the monster eye was now a 
blazing demon bursting with terrific power, and then 



156 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

it seized that helpless globe and ground it into powder. 

"The work of destruction was almost finished. Com- 
pared with what it was, the blackened ball was now 
nothing but a speck; and encircled as it was with flame, 
we saw it disappear and become dispersed into clouds 
of dust. Then the flames began to fade, and we real- 
ized that the fires in that Celestial Crematorium were 
going out. The atoms of a dead and useless world 
were now scattered through space, and had again be- 
come a part of the differentiated portion of God. 1 

"As we started to return to earth I asked my Master 
what had become of the fiery destructive center — for it 
had then entirely disappeared — and he replied: 
'What has become of the gas flame when the gas is 
turned off? or what has become of the cyclone when 
the wind has ceased to blow?' 

"Then I understood that the seven suns which had 
combined into a group to generate and to send forth 
their electric forces, had withdrawn those forces when 
the old world corpse had been destroyed, and I won- 
dered if I could be wise enough to apply the lesson I 
had just learned from cosmos, to the removing of rub- 
bish from my mundane path in life." 

The power that operates through great centers also 
operates through small ones; and thus man, with his 
physical body, generates within himself, although to a 



The History and Power of Mind, p. 105. 



Focusing Forces. 157 

lesser degree, the same power that manifests either con- 
structively or destructively among comets, suns and 
worlds. Like vibration, power cannot be qualified as 
either good or bad; but the manner in which it is ex- 
pressed, and the centers through which it operates, are 
what determine the results of its action. And it is the 
results produced by its manifestation which determine 
whether it has been used or misused. It is often said of 
a person that he or she possesses an evil power, which 
statement is absolutely incorrect, since it is impossible 
for power to be evil. 1 It is possible, however, for a 
person to temporarily produce a so-called evil as the 
result of the use of his power. So long as a person or a 
nation continues to grow greater socially, politically or 
financially it is believed that he or it is sustained by a 
good power. This is evidence of the sub-conscious race 
belief that construction of form is always good and 
that destruction of form is always bad. Only to a cer- 
tain degree is this belief true, for it should be remem- 
bered that when old forms of government, old social 
customs and old financial methods have served the time 
and purposes for which they were created, they must be 
destroyed as forms because they then only limit instead 
of increase the opportunities for a higher expression of 
power. With individuals it is the same. The man who 
has used his physical body for one hundred years be- 



The History and Power of Mind, pp. 147-148. 



158 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation, 

comes limited in regard to his expression of power, un- 
less he is an advanced soul and knows how to rejuvenate 
and keep his physical form in working order. And 
even if he is able to renew his body by replacing many 
of his old atoms with new ones there will come a time 
when the power he generates as a center of conscious- 
ness requires an entire new form as an instrument of ex- 
pression, and in a case of this kind the destruction of a 
physical form is not to be in the least regretted. It is 
the destruction of forms before they have served their 
purposes which is to be deplored, and a destruction of 
this kind the Occultist calls a misuse of power. 

It was not a misuse of power when the seven great 
centers of consciousness focused their forces for the 
destruction of the old dead globe that was floating use- 
lessly about in space, after its purpose had been served, 
any more than it was a misuse of power to focus their 
forces upon the construction of the new world they de- 
sired to build. It was the same power used in both in- 
stances, but it was the mode of expression and conse- 
quent results that differed. 

A center for the generation of power is and must be 
of a circular or slightly oblong shape. This is a neces- 
sary condition in order that there may be no angles to 
obstruct the rotary motion necessary to generation. 
And this is as true of the atom as it is of suns and worlds 
and men. The physical body of man, which is but the 
material or external manifestation of him, is in some- 



Focusing Forces. 159 

thing of a cylindrical form, while he himself is of an 
oval or egg shape ; and he generates his individual force 
as do the atoms of which he is composed by the con- 
stant rotary motion of the cosmic forces within him. 
At the moment that the tiny human embryo is con- 
I ceived, some of the orange life force which surrounds 
and permeates this planet rushes into it, and there con- 
tinues the same rotating motion within that tiny center 
of life that it made round the earth; and at that moment 
the individual force of that new form is established. 
Then its force increases in volume as the size of the 
center becomes enlarged, and the center is constantly 
being expanded under the force which is generated 
within it, until it can no longer remain it its pre-natal 
condition and, through its increased individual force, 
becomes expelled from its mother's womb. Liberated 
from the narrow confines of the uterus and thus be- 
coming capable of greater expansion, that generating 
center of force very soon begins to use its powers de- 
structively. ^ This is because destruction is easier to ac- 
complish than construction; and the human baby, like 
all other ignorant creatures of the animal kingdom, be- 
gins to express its powers in the manner that is easiest 
for it. As the child continues to expand as a conscious 
center it begins to generate mental as well as physical 
force, and then it commences to use its forces con- 
structively as well as destructively. In its effort toward 
character building it first begins to imitate, and before 



160 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

it has grown to manhood or womanhood, it has become 
a center of conscious power capable of using not only 
the orange life force, with which it began life, but also 
the red, the green and the blue cosmic forces. And it 
is through the use of these, combined with the orange 
life force, that it evolves still greater power. If it uses 
these cosmic forces unconsciously its power will be ex- 
pressed physically more than mentally; but if it uses 
them consciously through the power of concentration, 
then even the physical forces emanating from that cen- 
ter will be strengthened and controlled by its greater 
mental powers. 

To the generation of mental force concentration of 
thought is essential, for without this, mental creations 
cannot exist long enough to become materialized. 1 
The man who does not concentrate his thoughts upon 
what he wishes to do never does anything well. He 
is always an unreliable and an unsatisfactory person, 
and is neither a good lover nor a good hater. He for- 
gets to do what he should do and only does that which 
should not be done. He loses his own material pos- 
sessions and scatters everything that has been entrusted 
to his care by others. He is always too late for his 
train and his meals; he either over-sleeps or does not 
sleep at all because he has not the power to concentrate 



The History and Power of Mind.— Lecture Seven. 



Focusing Forces. 161 

his thoughts. For individualized centers of force who 
need knowledge along this line a few examples in con- 
centration will be given. 

t Concentration of thought means the power to think 
of one thing to the exclusion of all other things. To 
conserve energy — which is force — it is always better to 
concentrate upon something which may be of use rather 
than upon something that is of no use, such as a spot on 
the wall or a cloud in the sky. Some Eastern students 
of Occultism are taught to concentrate upon their 
navels or upon the ends of their noses. Unless a stu- 
dent understands what his navel is and what it is for, 
and that the forces he generates pass down his left side 
into his lower extremities and up the right side, 
through his brain, then down the left side to his feet 
again and up and around and around his navel, there is 
not much good to be gained by concentrating upon his 
navel. | j But if he can picture or see the forces at work 
within him, and if he can realize that the navel is a 
center of consciousness in his body, that it is the largest 
magnetic center for the generation of physical force that 
he possesses then it is a very good thing for him to con- 
centrate his thoughts upon. For, under these mental 
conditions his physical forces will be strengthened by 
the mental concentration. But there is nothing to be 
gained by concentrating the thoughts upon the end of 
one's nose, unless perhaps it should be an elongation 
of that particular facial feature, which to most persons 



162 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation, 

is not desirable. So it is better to select something to 
practise with that it is diserable to possess. Then the 
force is not wasted, since every thought sent out to a 
particular thing carries with it a little magnetic thread, 
and, when the thought settles upon the object concen- 
trated upon, a magnetic connection is immediately made 
between it and the mind that sent the thought. 

This magnetic thread attracts because it is of the 
nature of a magnet. It draws and will continue to draw 
to the person the object he is concentrating upon until 
it will finally become an actual possession of his own. 

There are the three planes of being to be drawn from, 
which are the material, the mental and the spiritual 
planes, and an example will be given for each. In or- 
der that a student should be able to do his best work in 
concentration he should first become conscious of his 
needs. For it is when the heart longs most earnestly 
for a thing that the mind makes the best mental picture 
of that thing. It should also be understood that con- 
centration is not an artificial or an unnatural, mental or 
physical condition. It is simply looking, with the phys- 
ical eyes either open or closed, at one thing without 
seeing any other thing. 

If a thinly clad man is passing along the street on a 
cold, windy day and suddenly sees a warm, comfortable 
looking overcoat in a tailor's window, involuntarily he 
stops and concentrates his thoughts upon it. There 
may be one hundred other things in that same window, 



Focusing Forces. 163 

such as neckties, opera hats, light gloves and evening 
suits, but he does not see anything except the overcoat 
of which he is painfully in need. His eyes are open, 
and to a person watching him it would seem that he was 
carefully scrutinizing the entire contents of the window 
when really he saw nothing but the one garment in 
question. 

This is physical and mental concentration combined. 
It was not a difficult thing to do, and the man did it 
without realizing that he was concentrating. He was 
interested in what he was concentrating upon, and 
therefore it was a pleasant rather than an unpleasant 
mental exercise. But if he had had six overcoats at 
home in his closet and 2 new one on his back, it would 
have been impossible for him to stand before that win- 
dow and look at that overcoat inside without seeing 
some of the other things that were with it. He would 
have seen the things most clearly that he most needed. 

If a woman has lost her health and her youth; if she 
is old and wrinkled and white-haired; if she is in posses- 
sion of many material things, or if she stands ever so 
high in the social world, she is nevertheless painfully in 
need of the things which she has not. In her heart she 
desires to be young and well and beautiful. And when 
she hears her joints creaking as she attempts to rise 
from her chair she very naturally thinks of the time 
when she danced and ran or skipped the rope with the 
other girls. In her mind rises the picture of herself as 



164 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

she looked then, with her rosy cheeks and bright eyes 
and with her hair falling in a mass of tangled curls \o her 
waist. She is concentrating upon a mental picture be- 
cause the material picture had disappeared, and, uncon- 
sciously, she is feebly using a means by which she might 
regain the youth and health she once possessed, if she 
knew how to use her mental powers rightly. If, after 
looking at the mental picture of herself as she once was, 
and would like to be again, she goes to her mirror and 
gazes at the gray hair and wrinkled face and bent figure 
that is there reflected back to her, and says: "Oh, yes, 
I am an old woman with one foot in the grave, and I 
never can be any better in this world," then by that very 
declaration and by her acceptance of the unfortunate 
situation she destroys the good results that would have 
come from concentrating upon her first mental picture. 
But if she would keep away from her mirror for one 
year and permit her maid to arrange her toilet and her 
hair; and if she would continue to hold that beautiful 
mental picture of herself without thinking of age and ill 
health, she would find at the end of that time that she 
was growing younger instead of older. i\nd if she 
would include physical exercise and plenty of fresh air 
with her mental picturing of herself, as she was when 
she was young, she would take tremendous strides up 
the mountain of life instead of down into the valley, with 
its shadows, tears and despair. As an aid to a woman's 



Focusing Forces, 165 

mental concentration for youth, all mirrors should be re- 
moved from her apartments. 

But suppose a person has all the material things he 
needs — money, home and friends. And suppose he has 
not become aged and ill, but is in possession of the 
vigor and strength of middle age. And he desires men- 
tal and spiritual power more than anything else in the 
world. He reads everything he can find written about 
the great minds who have lived on earth; and he con- 
centrates his thoughts for hours at a time upon the 
wonderful work they did; and he reverentially wishes or 
demands that such mental and spiritual power as they 
possessed would come to him. He reads of the Masters 
and the Saviors of mankind, and longs to know some- 
thing of their occult methods of controlling the ele- 
ments and of producing harmony where disharmony 
prevailed. Unconsciously to himself, perhaps, that 
person is demanding to be omniscient and omnipotent. 
But if he follows his mental demands with consciously 
drawing into himself the blue and the yellow cosmic 
currents, which are the mental and spiritual portions of 
Divine Mind, then he is scientifically working with 
vibratory law. 1 If, while he concentrates his thoughts 
upon his ideals, he is conscious of the fact that he, too, 
is a center for the generation of mental and spiritual 
power, and watches the mental and spiritual forces as 



1 The History and Power of Mind, pp. 158-160; 235-238. 



166 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

they rotate round and round and through and through 
his body and brain, he must gain the wisdom and power 
that he desires because he is using the law which gov- 
erns the generation of mental and spiritual power. 

But it should be remembered that this can be accom- 
plished only by the soul who undertakes it because he 
desires to become omniscient and omnipotent more 
than he desires anything else in the Universe. If men- 
tal and spiritual growth are his soul's coveted treasures 
he will gain them through his own powers of concentra- 
tion and generation, and in no other way. 



LECTURE SEVEN. 



MENTAL REPULSION. 

"In the beginning was the Word. * * * and the 
Word was God. * * * The same was in the begin- 
ning with God. In him was life; and the life was the 
light of men. And the light shineth in the darkness; 
and the darkness comprehended it not." 

Before the existence of motion or vibration there was 
"the Word" (Divine Will), and it was because Divine 
Mind put Divine Will into operation that motion — vi- 
bration — began in the Universe. Since Divine Will is 
the cause of vibration, so vibration is also the generator 
or creator of the force that manifests as attraction and 
repulsion. And it is upon the operation of this force, 
generated by vibration, that the perpetuation of form 
depends. Since form is essential to manifestation, and 
since form could not exist without vibration, then vi- 
bration is the keynote of creation, and without it the 
manifested portion of the Universe would cease to mani- 
fest. 

167 



168 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

The creation of a form begins with the amalgamation 
of two or more atoms which are vibrating at the same 
common rate. And the growth of a form is due to the 
continuous attraction of more atoms of a common rate 
to that nucleus or center. For example. The first tiny 
leaf that appears above the soil, as it springs forth from 
the acorn embedded in the earth, is a nucleus for an oak 
tree; and it will continue to grow because of its power 
of attraction. The attractive force is as dependent for 
its existence upon the vibration of the atoms it draws 
together to enlarge the form it works through, as the 
form is dependent upon the force for its growth. And 
thus the power and the center each grow in strength 
and size with every atom added. 

This force is attractive only to such atoms as are vi- 
brating at a common rate with those which compose its 
center of operations; and it is as forcefully repellent to 
all other atoms as it is attractive to those of its selec- 
tion. It is for this reason that all the leaves that appear 
upon that particular form or manifestation of force are 
similar in construction, and that the wood composing 
the trunk and limbs of that particular tree is similar in 
its consistency. If it were not possible for the force 
operating through that center to as strongly repel the 
wrong atoms as to attract the right ones, then that 
center would have no distinct character of its own, but 
would be composed of any kind of atoms and would be 
as likely to have a part of its limbs of pine or of hem- 



Mental Repulsion, 169 

lock as of oak. And its body would be as likely to be 
composed of ash and of maple as of anything else. 

And it is in the same manner that the vibratory law 
manifests in every sphere or plane in the Universe. In 
the mineral and animal kingdoms it works with a dis- 
tinct purpose the same as it does in the vegetable king- 
dom. Among the minerals the atoms which vibrate 
at a rate manifesting as gold are attracted and adhere 
together as gold; and, as a center of force, it has a char- 
acter and a value separate and distinct from any other 
metal or mineral. The vibration of the atoms compos- 
ing a center in the animal kingdom are of a much higher 
rate than are those of the mineral or vegetable king- 
dom, and, since it is in accordance with the law of 
vibratory attraction that force grows stronger with the 
increase of the vibratory power of its center, the force 
manifesting as attraction and repulsion in an animal or 
a man is much greater than it is in either of the lower 
kingdoms. 

In these higher forms of manifestation this force is 
not confined to the selection and rejection of physical 
atoms that will compose its material center, but it goes a 
step further and manifests also as mental likes and dis- 
likes. For a law of physics is also a law of metaphysics, 
and the law of attraction and repulsion operates more 
forcefully and with greater rapidity upon the mental 
than upon the material plane, and this is because of the 
higher rate of the vibration of the atoms composing 



"'. 



TO From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation, 



mind or soul. The objective mind of man, being of a 
lower rate of vibration than the subjective mind, is more 
repellent than attractive to the things which would serve 
to aid man in his evolutionary journey. And it is be- 
cause man permits his objective mind to direct his af- 
fairs for him, that he meets with so much sorrow and 
disharmony in physical life. Before the Sons of God, 
or the subjective minds, came to earth to incarnate in 
animal forms, in the realm of innocence in which they 
dwelt they were negatively good and therefore they 
enjoyed a negative happiness. But when they under- 
took the task of incarnating upon this earth in the phys- 
ical forms that were already under the control of posi- 
tive animal minds, at first they were as utterly unable 
to control them as a child is unable to control a man. 
And while those subjective minds were getting accus- 
tomed to their new environment they were absolutely 
under the dominion of their objective or lower minds. 

During the ages that have passed since the Sons of 
God came here to dwell, a few have gained absolute 
control over their objective minds and have therefore 
evolved beyond the condition of the mass of humanity, 
which is still suffering under that dominion. Those few 
souls have the freedom of thought and action that are 
attributed to spiritual men and are now positively happy 
because of their positive goodness; and they have 
evolved to the point where they are no longer the vic- 
tims of circumstances, but absolutely control their en- 



Mental Repulsion. 171 

vironment. There are others who have not reached 
the point of development where they are able to con- 
stantly control their animal or objective minds, but who 
are trying to do so, and it is to these souls that this 
message is given, as an aid toward doing the work they 
have undertaken to do. 

In Lecture Five of this Course was given a descrip- 
tion of the origin and development of man's objective 
mind, and that description will not be repeated. In 
Lecture Sixth it was shown that man is a center for the 
expression of force and by reason of this, he belongs to 
either the constructive or destructive side of nature. 
If he is destructive then he must use the destructive 
forces of nature since those are the forces he attracts to 
himself, by reason of his own rate of vibration which 
must correspond with the destructive forces. If his 
animal mind dominates his actions then he, as a center 
or vortex, draws to himself force from the cosmic cur- 
rents out of which his animal mind was created. And 
since that mind was taken out of the orange, the red 
and the green currents blended together, those are the 
forces which he uses. 1 The orange life force supplies 
his body with physical strength. From the red cosmic 
force he draws his different emotions and passions. By 
aid of this force he hates and quarrels and destroys his 
own and other persons' property. Through the use 



J The History and Power of Mind, pp. 224; 228-238. 



172 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

of this current he is immoral and irregular in his habits. 
He indulges his appetites and his sexual passions to a 
state of satiety, and, by reason of his excesses, precipi- 
tates upon himself the calamities and misfortunes which 
are the natural consequences of such indulgences. By 
aid of the green cosmic force he becomes more individ- 
ualized in the misuse of his forces. Where once he 
raised a mob of men to help him fight his battles, he 
now challenges other men to fight duels, and where he 
once was quite content to satisfy his sexual desires by 
indulgence with almost anything in female form, he 
now prefers a mistress or mistresses of his own. Where 
by aid of the red force alone he once robbed and took 
by physical force the property and rights of others and 
then scattered his ill gotten gains as quickly as he had 
secured them, by reason of the added power of the 
green force he desires aggrandizement. He robs and 
steals in secret and the n protects and continues to pos- 
sess the property he has gained by making laws, or by 
bribing law makers that will favor him in his dishonesty. 
As a natural consequence the mental condition of 
such a man is one of constant repulsion to certain per- 
sons and certain things; and the forces which manifest 
through him as a center of force are generally destruc- 
tive and repulsive. Because of the disregard he shows 
to the voice of conscience, his subjective mind has very 
little influence over h-m for the betterment of his con- 
dition; and instead of progressing mentally or phys- 



Mental Repulsion, 173 

ically, he becomes more and more hampered and har- 
assed by the troubles of his own creation. After many 
lives of this kind he has accumulated karmic debts which 
are like millstones about his neck, and which limit his 
power and even his desire to demand good for himself. 
He finds no one who can or will trust or believe in his 
promises because he has been and is so untrustworthy. 
He repels mentally and physically other persons who 
are better developed and more refined than himself. 
Because of his grossness and vulgarity, he attracts to 
himself for his friends only those who are at the same 
common rate of mental vibration with himself, and this 
is because such persons are the only ones who can en- 
dure his vibrations. It is not at all helpful to him to 
have such undeveloped persons as these for his friends, 
since, like himself, they, too, are seeking aggrandize- 
ment and wish to use him as a means to further their 
ends. They will profess friendship for him so long as 
he can be made use of, but when he refuses to accede 
further to their demands these friends immediately turn 
about and become his enemies. 

Because of the wrongs committed in lives previous, 
he will sometimes be compelled to live in the closest 
family relationship with persons whom he hates and 
who hate him. And because of his environment, which 
he knows not how to change, he is sometimes compelled 
to thus live and suffer for a lifetime without relief. 
For example. Here is a soul incarnated in female 



174 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation, 

form. For many lives in succession, whether with a 
masculine or feminine personality, she has given ex- 
pression only to her selfish, animal desires. She is now 
born into a family with several brothers and sisters who 
are all younger than herself. She is without financial 
means and lives in a locality where there are no oppor- 
tunities for her to gain finance. Her parents are poor, 
her relatives are poor and all her neighbors are poor. 
The great Karmic Law has now placed her where she 
cannot steal anything as she did in her former lives, be- 
cause there is nothing here that is worth stealing. She 
cannot build herself up socially or financially at an- 
other's expense, because there is nothing in that posi- 
tion for her social or financial foundation. She is 
obliged to cook and wash and iron for the different 
members of her family because there is no one to do it 
but herself. Her brothers and sisters and the father 
and mother for whom she toils do not show her any 
affection and she is in such a repellent mental condition, 
because of her unhappy environment, that she naturally 
repels all affection. And because of the hatred and bit- 
terness in her heart she is in a constant inharmonious 
condition. This inharmonious condition repels every 
good thing that might come to her, and attracts to her 
things which are of a similar inharmonious and destruc- 
tive vibration. Because she has no knowledge of the 
justice of the great Law, she is forced to believe in luck 
and declares that she has nothing, nor does not expect 



Mental Repulsion. 175 

to have anything but bad luck for the remainder of her 
life. She becomes pessimistic about everything. If 
she lives on a farm and her family depends upon what 
can be raised there for their maintenance, she expects 
frosts to kill, floods to drown, and fires to burn every- 
thing that they possess. And since it is in accordance 
with law that what one really expects will surely come, 
this pessimistic, inharmonious, fearful woman's life be- 
comes nothing but a continuous disappointment. 

If she plans to go somewhere, prefacing those plans, 
she declares it to be her belief that it will storm before 
she returns and absolutely ruin her clothes and her 
pleasure. She thinks storm and watches for it, and it 
is pretty sure to come and do all the mischief that she 
declared or thought it would do. It was not because 
she had the mental power to bring a storm with her 
pessimistic thinking, but because of her belief that her 
pleasure would be spoiled by a storm that the great Law 
suggested to her mind the day a storm was likely to 
come, and she selected that day for her outing. She 
was drawn into the storm because it was an inharmo- 
nious condition of the elements and vibrated at the same 
common rate with her stormy, inharmonious mental 
condition. 

This woman rebels against the "fate" which compels 
her to scrub and cook for the members of her family, 
and to one not acquainted with the operation of the 
Law of Karma, it would seem an injustice that she is 



176 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

'i 

suffering from. But had she a memory of some of her 
past lives in all their fullnesses, she would know that 
these persons, whom she is now serving, are the same 
individuals to whom she owes unpaid debts. There is 
a brother whose heavy, coarse garments she is now 
obliged to wash and to mend; and whose stockings she 
must knit. In another life she either robbed him out- 
right of his money or borrowed and never paid it back 
to him. With the selfishness still in her nature that 
prompted her to do that wrong to him in another life, 
she would not willingly repay him in this life if she had 
the means with which to pay it, and so the great Law 
makes her serve him with her hands and feet until that 
debt is fully paid. There is a sister whose dresses she is 
obliged to make, and, after the daily household duties 
are done, she sometimes sits until late into the night and 
sews and mends her sister's clothes. It is true that she 
rebels against the work and hates her sister; and per- 
haps she even wishes that she could die and thus be rid 
of the burden. But she will never be rid of it until her 
karmic debt is fully paid. She does not know, and per- 
haps she does not care to know, what caused her bond- 
age to that sister. But if she could look back into the 
past she might see that there was a time when that in- 
dividual, for whom she is now toiling, was then her ser- 
vant whom she refused to pay. Because of the selfish- 
ness in her heart she took the service of that person's 
hands and feet and gave her nothing in return. She 



Mental Repulsion. 177 

cheated her of the money she toiled for and used it for 
her own selfish purposes; but now the great Law of 
Justice has placed her where she must serve out this 
debt and she will never be released until it is paid. And 
so it goes with every member of her family. She owes 
each one a debt that she is paying with her services, and 
if she could but understand that it is not a cruelty but a 
kindness to have this opportunity given her to pay all 
these debts at once, instead of being obliged to take a 
lifetime for each, it might be a temporary comfort to her 
troubled soul. 

But until her karmic debts are nearly paid she cannot 
see nor be made to understand either the cause of her 
condition or a way to get out of it. In her repellent 
mental condition she cannot nor will not accept nor 
believe in the law of Demand and Supply. This is be- 
cause her karma is not yet nearly exhausted. There 
are so many more karmic debts between her and the 
light of freedom that they obscure that light from her 
vision, as the rain clouds obscure the sun from the 
earth. The woman cannot accept so high a truth as 
this, but will attract to her mind many superstitions and 
false beliefs instead. This is because these untruths 
are vibrating harmoniously with her own false, untruth- 
ful nature; and as the force working through the oak 
tree attracts only such atoms as are needed to build the 
oak and to give it its oaken character, and repels all 
other atoms, so does this woman attract such beliefs or 



178 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

superstitions as correspond with her nature and her 
mental vibrations. 

Humanity as a mass cannot receive or understand the 
higher Occult Truths. It is only the few who are con- 
sciously working to control their objective minds who 
are ready to be helped at this time in this way. These 
lessons are written for the few who desire to become 
practical Occultists. The first three lectures of this 
course are the foundation stones of Adeptship, and no 
one will ever be accepted as a student by the Silent 
Brotherhood who does not build his character upon 
them. 1 Before the subjective minds of animal men 
have become to any degree victorious over their ob- 
jective minds, the superstitions created by their animal 
hopes and fears are the only things that they can under- 
stand or appreciate. To the undeveloped, ignorant, 
animal man's mind the howling of a lonely dog at the 
hour of midnight is a warning that death is near; and 
he at once begins to wonder if it is his death that is 
approaching. And for many days and sometimes for 
weeks afterward his thoughts may be so engrossed with 
his fear of death that he stops swearing and drinking 
and behaves much better than he has behaved for years 
before he heard the howling of the dog. 

To the ignorant mind of an animal woman who hap- 
pens to hear the faint ticking sound that is sometimes 



1 History and Power of Mind, pp. 186-187. 



Mental Repulsion, 179 

made by a little beetle as it burrows into the wooden 
wall, it is a sign of immediate death. Her particular 
superstition teaches that this sound is the death watch 
and is ticking away the seconds of her life; and she im- 
mediately turns her thoughts away from her gossiping 
and mischief making and begins making preparations 
for her demise. But to the man who rules his objective 
mind, neither of these superstitions mean anything, be- 
cause he knows that he can control his own destiny and 
can continue to use his physical body as long as he de- 
sires. But if he knew that the transition called death 
were near at hand, and if he believed it to be advisable 
for him to make the change, he would not be frightened 
into any better behavior because of it, since he lives 
each day to his highest ideal of living and therefore each 
day he would be on his best behavior. 

There is much confusion of thought concerning the 
operation of the Law of Demand and Supply in connec- 
tion with the Law of Karma, and a few words at this 
point may destroy that confusion. In the Eastern 
School of Occultism the Karmic Law is so forcefully 
presented that it almost assumes an aspect of fatalism, 
or of "Kismet," as it is called by the Mohammedan. 
But the Western student is taught that the Law of 
Karma is a part of the Law of Demand and Supply. 
For example. Here is a man who is suffering from 
poverty. He does not seem able to get a position by 
which he may earn his living. Every position that he 



180 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation, 

applies for has been filled and perhaps in less than an 
hour before he applied. He seems to be everlastingly 
too late for everything he wants, and he walks the 
streets praying for (demanding) work until he becomes 
so tired and faint from hunger that he can scarcely move 
or stand. 

He does not know, and perhaps would not believe it 
if he were to be told, that this is a karmic condition 
which is the result of his past demands for idleness. 
In another life, or during the earlier part of this one, he 
did not want work,, but preferred idleness, and then 
he resented all suggestions of work when they were 
made to him. At that time he may have had plenty of 
means and did not need a position and he may then have 
vehemently declared that "the world owed him a liv- 
ing," and then was not wise enough to follow that ab- 
surd remark with the declaration that the world must 
pay its debt by giving him a living. This man is now 
suffering^ past karma which is really the supply of his 
demand for idleness. The earnest demands he now 
makes for work will bring future karma, in the form of 
work, and perhaps a great deal more than he can do; 
and when that time comes, if he has then learned some- 
thing about the Law of Karma, he will wonder what 
he ever did to create a karma which brought such an 
amount of labor for him. 

Here is another example. There are two brothers 
and both are suffering from illness and poverty. They 



Mental Repulsion. 181 

are fond of each other and live harmoniously together, 
but there seems to be no way for them to get out of 
their unpleasant environment and both become greatly 
discouraged. One day one of the brothers finds a book 
in the road and takes it home to read. In that book is a 
statement of the Law of Demand and Supply and there 
are also rules for demonstrating over poverty and dis- 
ease, all of which appeal to him as true. He tells his 
brother about the book and declares it to be his inten- 
tion to put the rules into immediate practice. His 
brother does not understand the contents of the book, 
nor does he care to understand it, nor will he even listen 
while his progressive brother attempts to read to him 
from it. But the progressive brother continues to read 
and to think and commences to practice with the knowl- 
edge he gains. As a result he begins to demonstrate 
over his physical and financial difficulties and after a 
time rises superior to them while the other brother con- 
tinues to be ill and poor and wretched. The poor 
brother refuses to help himself or to be helped by 
"such nonsense," and as his progressive brother's men- 
tal and physical vibrations grow higher because of his 
improved mental and physical conditions, his poor 
brother turns from him in bitterness of thought and per- 
haps grows to hate him because he has left him behind 
in his undevelopment. The soul of the progressive 
brother is troubled because of the other one's mental 
attitude and wonders if this condition is karmic. 



182 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

It is karmic, but it is a karma produced by the work- 
ing of the Law of Demand and Supply. Both men 
were in their unhappy condition as a result of trans- 
gressing the law in another life. But the more progres- 
sive man had more nearly expiated his mistakes than 
had the other one, and, when almost at the end of his 
karmic afflictions, his demand for relief was met by the 
great Law in the form of the book. He was far enough 
out of his karmic gloom to be able to see the truth 
when it was presented to him, and to profit by it. The 
other man, who would not listen, had not yet finished 
with his karma; there were still so many karmic debts 
to be paid that the shadows cast by them were too 
dense for him to see the truth. He was not ready and 
would not be until he had finished or had nearly fin- 
ished with his expiating; and then he could be helped 
as well as his progressive brother had been. But it 
might not be in this life and if that were to be the case 
those brothers had come to the parting of their ways. 
And however sad it might seem to either it was inevita- 
ble. The difference in the mental and physical vibra- 
tions of each would separate them as surely as oil sepa- 
rates from water, and this separation would 'come be- 
cause of the action of the law that governs vibration. 

Thus it may be stated as a rule that when a person 
accepts the Law of Demand and Supply as a truth, it is 
an indication that his old karma is nearly exhausted and 
that he is then in a position to demand and to very soon 



Mental Repulsion, 183 

enter into a better environment. But when a person 
closes his eyes and ears to this truth, and refuses to ac- 
cept or to consciously make use of the Law of Demand 
and Supply, it is an indication that he has a large 
amount of old karma to overcome and that he cannot 
get out, nor be helped out of his unhappy condition 
until those karmic debts are paid. 

There are several very important conditions to be 
observed when a student commences to consciously use 
the Law of Demand and Supply. For it is one thing to 
use it consciously and another thing to use it uncon- 
sciously as do the plants and animals, and many men. 
The first great aid is to learn all that it is possible to 
learn about it by studying its operations, and by tracing 
the causes for existing conditions with one's self and 
with others. If a person is in possession of something 
which he does not desire and something which he seems 
to be unable to get rid of, he should first concentrate 
his thoughts upon it and demand to know how this 
thing came into his possession and what he did to bring 
it. And when he is perfectly satisfied that he does not 
nor ever will want that thing again, then he should con- 
centrate his mind upon it and demand that it shall be 
removed from him. 

The man of regular, orderly habits, he who never 
drinks liquor nor smokes tobacco in any form, some- 
times wonders, with indignation, why persons make him 
presents of bottles of wine and boxes of cigars. He 



184 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

should not permit himself to become indignant about 
these presents, because either in a former life or in the 
earlier part of this one he wanted or demanded and used 
these things which now he cares nothing for. And 
these bottles of wine, pipes and cigars are the supplies 
which are still coming in answer to his former demands. 
In the next life, because of the indignation he now feels 
when these things are presented to him, he will very 
likely be situated where he could not get a bottle of 
wine if he should want it, and pipes and tobacco or 
cigars will also be great scarcities in his locality then. 

Time given to concentration is never wasted. Many 
persons are inclined to consider this mental work an 
interruption to legitimate business. But all business, 
as well as any kind of pleasure, is better done and more 
satisfaction is derived from the doing of it, if concentra- 
tion of thought is brought to bear upon it. The suc- 
cessful person concentrates his mind upon everything 
he does. He never decides a question without concen- 
trating upon it; and the greater and deeper the concen- 
tration he gives to it the better and more satisfactory 
are his results, and it is the same with the making of a 
demand. The more concentration put upon that de- 
mand and the more time given to that concentration 
the sooner it will be met. 

The reason one person has more power of concen- 
tration than another is because he has had more prac- 
tice than the other. This may be due to the fact that he 



Mental Repulsion. 185 

is an older soul, or it may be because he has improved 
his time better than the other. If a person is so situ- 
ated that all his material wants are supplied he is not 
inclined to demand or to concentrate upon material 
things, but he then has a good opportunity to demand 
and to concentrate upon mental and spiritual power. 
If he does this he is improving his time and is gaining 
in the power of concentration the same as is the man 
who demands and concentrates upon material things; 
for the power of concentration increases with use, and 
whether it is used for a higher or a lower purpose it 
must and will grow. And the demands made for things 
that are injurious to both the body and the soul of a 
man will be met through his power of concentration just 
as readily as will be the demands for things which will 
raise him materially, mentally and spiritually. 

For example. He who concentrates his thoughts 
upon the creation of a system by which he may break 
the bank at Monte Carlo may use the same amount of 
concentration upon his demand for knowledge along 
this line that another man would use in studying how to 
make the lens of a telescope that would enable astrono- 
mers to know the actual climatic and atmospheric con- 
ditions of the planet Mars. The power of concentra- 
tion of each of these men would develop equally while 
they were studying their different subjects and thus 
they would have, and be ready to use, that power at 
another time upon some other demand which would 



186 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

be of greater personal value to each. And here again 
the Law of Karma comes into operation. The reason 
the man wishes to break the bank at Monte Carlo is 
because, either in this life or in another, he has been 
robbed of every dollar he possessed by that or by some 
other gambling institution. In his heart he has a desire 
to retaliate for the material loss he has sustained 
through gaming, and uses his power of concentration 
in this manner. The time he spends in concentrating is 
not wasted because he has gained in power thereby, but 
the karma he makes for himself by hating and demand- 
ing revenge will tie him for another life perhaps to the 
men whom he seeks now to injure. Knowing this, it is 
wiser to select a subject for concentration from among 
the things or qualities that will be of benefit rather than 
a detriment. 

Here is a man who greatly desires to gain a knowl- 
edge of medicine. He longs for the time to come when 
he can devote his entire time to this study. But he has 
now neither the means nor the opportunity. He lives 
in a rural district and is obliged to rise at four or five 
o'clock in the morning to milk the cows. He has not 
a moment of time to read until after the last chore has 
been done at night when he may take an hour perhaps 
to study the advertisements for patent medicines in the 
weekly newspaper. Yet his soul is filled with the de- 
sire to go to college and to become a practising physi- 
cian. And it may be that notwithstanding his longing 



Mental Repulsion. 187 

and demanding of this knowledge, he may not have his 
demand met in this life because of his unfavorable 
karmic conditions, and because of his lack of knowledge 
of the Law of Demand and Supply. If he could know 
that the demands he is now making will be met in his 
next life just as surely as these obstacles which are now 
in his way were put there by other demands made in 
another life, he would be better satisfied to wait. Dur- 
ing some other life he desired to possess the farm and 
the stock which now stands in his way of the study of 
medicine; and he demanded that kind of work then just 
as earnestly as he is now demanding a college education. 

When he has gained all the experiences that he needs 
out of his old demands, when he knows all about farm- 
ing and stock raising that it is necessary to know, then 
his condition will change, and for his next incarnation 
he may be born the son or daughter of an eminent 
physician, and in his new environment have every op- 
portunity to study, which is now denied him. The 
more concentrating he does on his farming now the 
more power of concentration will he possess as a physi- 
cian, and the better work will he do then. 

It is impossible to utterly fail in demonstrating. For 
even the lightest wish, if not destroyed by an equally 
strong denial, will some time bring the thing wished 
for. But it may not come at the time it is desired, or 
perhaps for a long time after the desire for it is dead; 
but it must and will come some time * when the vibra- 



188 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

tions of the individual who wished for it have been 
changed from repulsion to attraction. A pessimistic 
condition of mind is always the cause of mental and 
physical repulsion of good things. The person who 
can only see disaster and destruction before him, draws 
those conditions into his life the same as the happy, 
hopeful mind draws peaceful and beautiful things into 
his life. The pessimist selects the misfortunes as force- 
fully as he rejects the blessings of life, and because he 
receives what he selects or demands, he is unhappy and 
makes every one round him unhappy. 

The pessimistic man in business, whether he be a 
merchant, a banker, a broker, or an investor, is always 
losing his money. He expects to lose it, and therefore 
the Law gives him the opportunity. Because he be- 
lieves all men are dishonest he is drawn into business 
transactions with only dishonest men. He lives and 
moves in the destructive current of dishonesty, and if 
he does not get out of his unfortunate mental condition, 
he will never succeed in anything he undertakes to do. 
Pessimism, like any other defect of character, increases 
with every moment of time that it is permitted to influ- 
ence a person's actions. But if it does not find an ex- 
ternal means of expression, like any other weed in the 
heart garden, it will die. The best manner by which a 
tendency to pessimism may be overcome is to set up an 
opposite current of vibration by reversing the expres- 
sion of one's pessimistic opinion. If it looks as if it were 



Mental Repulsion. 189 

going to rain, declare that the sun is coming out, and 
ignore, and if possible, forget the fact that the clouds 
are dark and threatening. If one feels miserable and . 
wretched, one should search for the cause of the 
trouble. If it is found to be a torpid liver or a severe 
case of indigestion, change cooks or order a change of 
food. If neither of these bring about the desired 
change in the physical difficulty, wash out the stomach 
and intestines with warm salt water and fast for a day 
or two. In the meantime go out into the fresh air and 
sunshine. Take a trip out of town or visit some one 
who is jolly and good tempered. If the pessimistic 
condition is found to be caused by mental depression 
alone, then declare peace and happiness until they come 
and drive away the pessimistic mood. 

If the pessimistic condition has come because of the 
loss of material things or of friends, declare that no 
thing nor person can be lost to you that belongs to you, 
and if what you supposed was yours belonged to some 
one else, you are glad that it had reached its real owner 
at last. And then stop thinking about it and commence 
making demands for something else to take the place 
of that which has been taken from you. 

Every soul is just where it belongs at this moment of 
time. And every soul will become what it really de- 
sires to be, at some future time. If it desires to grow 
and to progress, then the opportunities will be given it 
as fast as it can make use of them. But if it prefers to 



190 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

retrogress and degenerate, then abundant opportunities 
of this kind will be given; and if it continues to retro- 
gress and never to progress, then it will some time reach 
a point where the Great Consciousness will re-absorb 
its unfortunate child and that center of consciousness 
will cease to exist as an individualized center. It will 
be drawn back again into the differentiated portion of 
God — Divine Mind — there to remain until another 
Cosmic Day shall come, when it will come forth again 
and make another attempt toward a better and a higher 
individualization. And after all it is not such a dreadful 
fate to be re-absorbed into the Father-Mother Principle 
as it would be to burn forever and forever in the theo- 
logian's lake of fire, which they claim is prepared by the 
devil and his angels for the souls who fail. 

All the blossoms on the fruit trees do not become 
fruit the first nor the second time the blossoms are put 
forth. But none are wasted, because the Mother Prin- 
ciple in nature re-absorbs the blasted blossoms and the 
same power of selection which drew to the tree the 
atoms which gave it power to bring forth the first blos- 
soms will draw back to it the atoms that are scattered 
round it upon the earth. And when the next season 
comes those blossoms will again appear stronger and 
more beautiful than before, because of the added force 
they will then have gained from resting in the parent 
heart that bore them. 

Discouragement is but a step above pessimism. And 



Mental Repulsion. 191 

when one yields to and remains in a discouraged condi- 
tion of mind over one's seeming failures to make dem- 
onstrations, he has temporarily, at least, entered the 
destructive mental current with the pessimist. Dis- 
couragement repels good things, and, like pessimism, 
attracts the undesirable things. It is born of impa- 
tience, and it is because a person becomes impatient 
and unwilling to wait for his demands to be met that he 
becomes discouraged. 

But if every Son of God would only realize that every 
wish he makes will some time be granted, and that, too, 
as soon as the avenue through which it must come shall 
be cleared of the very thought rubbish he himself has 
placed therein, discouragement with him would die a 
natural death. Souls should look with broadened 
visions beyond this short life, which is but a day in the 
evolutionary journey of each. The wise man who starts 
to take a trip around the world plans for more than a 
day at a .time. He telegraphs ahead for his steamer 
and railroad accommodations, and if he fails to make 
some of them when he wishes to, he waits for another 
steamer or train. And while he is waiting for the de- 
sirable accommodations, he gets as much enjoyment 
out of his then environment as it is possible to get. If 
he were to rush and fume or get discouraged and turn 
back every time he missed a train or when any delay 
occurred, all enjoyment of his trip would be destroyed 
and his entire journey, which should be one of pleasure 



192 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

and profit, would be nothing but a continuous mental 
and physical strain—a wear and tear upon his nervous 
system. 

If a person has demanded money he should wait until 
it comes before he spends it, and then he will have no 
debts to trouble him. It is always best to live within 
one's income and if possible have something left over 
each month or year to use in case an emergency should 
arise to meet it. It is the anxiety of not knowing how 
to meet one's bills which causes the greatest discourage- 
ment in life. If a man is so situated that he cannot 
afford to live like a prince, then let him live in the man- 
ner befitting his station until his demands shall be met 
which will enable him to live as he desires to live. 
Learn to wait and to wait patiently, as God — Divine 
Mind — waits for the development of man. 



i 



LECTURE EIGHT. 



MENTAL ATTRACTION. 

In Lectures Six and Seven of this Course, vibration 
was described as the keynote to Creation, and sufficient 
was said upon the subject to acquaint the student with 
its position as a pivotal element in the Universe. 
Because of limited space, a further discussion of vibra- 
tion per se will be omitted, but further information will 
be given regarding its influence upon the subjective 
mind and upon man's relationships in physical life. 

Opposite mental repulsion, disharmony and pessi- 
mism, or the destructive mental forces, are mental 
attraction, optimism and progression or the construc- 
tive mental forces. It is necessary to study both forces 
in order to gain a thorough understanding of the oper- 
ation of the Law of Evolution, and the student must 
be shown the seamy or wrong side of life as well as 
the right or finished side. 

The egg shaped center of consciousness called mind 
or man is the highest vibrating center of force that 
continuously exists upon this planet as form. And it 



194 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

is only because of its union with the objective mind, 
and the preponderance of the objective mind, that the 
subjective mind is compelled to remain upon the earth. 
Being of a higher rate of vibration than the earth, or 
than anything produced by the earth, it could not be 
confined to this material plane if it were not for this 
union. And until the lower mind shall be raised and 
shall be made to vibrate in harmony with its higher 
mind, neither minds can progress beyond their present 
condition. 

The animal mind is to the subjective? mind what the 
anchor-drag is to the ship, or to the captive balloon. 
It holds its subjective mind upon this mundane sphere 
by means of the magnetic mental attraction that exists 
between them. And the objective mind, by reason' of 
its greater weight or lowered rate of vibrations, is held 
to the earth by its own density, and by its attraction to 
the material things upon the earth. And until the 
animal mind shall cease to worship the things of earth, 
shall become less sensuous, and shall turn more of its 
attention toward mental and spiritual things, it will 
continue to be just what it is — a jailor for its subjective 
mind, who is now its most unhappy prisoner upon this 
plane. 

Before coming into contact with its objective, animal 
mind, the subjective mind was happy and hopeful. It 
knew nothing of sorrow nor of disappointment, nor of 
the physical ills or troubles of material life. And when 



Mental Attraction. 195 

its mission upon this plane has been fulfilled, and it has 
so far conquered that lower, animal mind as to become 
its master instead of its slave, then its original nature 
will be reasserted and it will again be happy. When 
that great victory has been gained its happiness will be 
that of a glorified soul of experiences rather than the 
negative happiness of a helpless, ignorant infant. Then 
its fetters of limitation will fall away, and, because of 
its spiritual knowledge and power, it will be able to 
pass at will beyond this "vale of tears," into the realm 
where there are no tears, and where physical and 
material troubles are never experienced. But before 
that great triumph can be gained there are many steps 
to be taken on its evolutionary journey; and the first of 
these is to acquire perfect poise. 

Before the human child can walk or run it must 
learn to stand by gaining and maintaining its physical 
equilibrium; and what is} true upon the material plane 
is also true upon the mental plane. After mental poise 
is acquired it must be maintained, since mental pro- 
gression, without poise is as impossible to attain as is 
physical progression without equilibrium. 

In the human soul's struggle for freedom the element 
of fear is the first and last enemy that has to be over- 
come. 1 It is the most formidable attribute of the objec- 
tive mind, and it is that which limits man to the nar- 



l The History and Power of Mind, pp. 72-73, 85, 140-141, 



196 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

rowest confines of earth. So long as it rules and reigns 
in the human heart, mental poise and complete indi- 
vidualization are impossible to attain; for fear casts its 
malefic influence upon men and women alike, and it 
retards the growth of a soul more than does any other 
thing. 

Physical fear and fear of loss are the first two aspects 
of this retarding influence to be overcome; and in order 
to accomplish this the soul must learn to recognize its 
own indestructibility. Composed as it is of ethereal 
substance of a higher rate of vibration than that of 
material things, it can neither be destroyed nor injured 
by material things, nor by the loss of material things, 
nor by the loss of friends. Since individualization is 
the ultimate goal for every soul, earthly transitions, 
such as the coming and going of friends or of enemies, 
can but hinder or help, according to the ability of a 
soul to keep its poise. 

■* As an aid toward the recognition of its individuality 
a soul must first learn to be happy when alone, and 
not to be dependent upon another person or persons 
for its pleasure or happiness. It is the human baby 
that must be kept quiet and amused by a rattlebox or 
a bell, or by something that can make a noise or a 
confusion. But when its physical body and brain have 
matured it should evolve beyond' the necessity for 
rattleboxes and bells, and should be amused and enter- 
tained by thoughts instead of things. Not that man 



Mental Attraction. 197 

should' cease to love the society of his friends, or that 
he should retire from this beautiful world with all its 
wonderful scenery; but he should not be dependent 
upon persons or things for his pleasure or his happiness. 

The person who cannot be alone for a moment with- 
out being lonely or wretched, but who must have some 
one to talk to, has no mental poise and very little indi- 
viduality. The person who dares not go to sleep with- 
out a light burning in his room has no mental force 
or mental equilibrium. The person who cannot be 
content unless he is plunged into social gaieties or is 
madly rushing from one fete to another is utterly and 
entirely upon the physical plane of being, and is drag- 
ging his helpless, unhappy subjective mind after him 
as mercilessly as a conquering general drags after him 
his captives of war. 

The next aspect of fear to be overcome is the fear 
of public opinion or of criticism. 1 There are men who 
have such tremendous physical strength- that they do 
not fearj to meet in combat either men or beasts; and 
yet they may be completely cowered by a sarcastic 
glance, a scornful smile, or a shrug of the shoulders 
given by some one whose admiration they desire to 
gain. ■ With set teeth and unfaltering steps those men 
would walk straight forward to meet death in battle, 
or would die at the stake without one moan of pain; 



l The History and Power of Mind, pp. 86-87. 



198 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

but they could not bear ridicule, and perhaps would 
sacrifice their highest moral principles rather than to 
bear the title, "out of date." 

For example, Mr. Blank is really fond of his wife and 
of his family, and prefers to spend his evenings at home; 
but Mr. Dash, whose admiration and respect Mr. Blank 
greatly desires to gain, is fond of nothing but "a good 
time." Mr. Dash invites Mr. Blank to go out with 
him "and make a night of it," ! and he goes because he 
is afraid that if he should refuse the invitation his friend 
would call him "a back 1 number." It is true that he is 
not happy one moment of the time he spends in dissi- 
pation, but he has not the courage or the mental poise 
to look Mr. Dash in the eyes and say, "I prefer to 
remain at home with my wife." He could not bear 
the ridicule that would be provoked among his 
acquaintances by this "out of date" position. 

And it is the same kind of fear that casts its demor- 
alizing influence upon Mrs. Blank when Mrs. Dash 
invites her toi a theatre party and a supper afterward, 
and provides old Mr. Roue for her partner for the 
evening. Mrs. Blank would much rather go to see 
the play accompanied by her husband, whom she 
really likes better than any one she knows, but she is 
afraid to refuse this invitation. She has not the mental 
poise to look Mrs. Dash in the face and say, "I prefer 
my husband's society to that of Mr. Roue or of any 
other man, and if your invitation does not include Mr. 



Mental Attraction. 199 

Blank I shall decline it." , She could not bear the dis- 
dainful curl of Mrs. Dash's lip, nor the pitying glances 
of her acquaintances after taking such a "prudish" 
position; and so she goes to the party and permits Mr. 
Roue to say and do many things which she would not 
like; her husband to see or hear. She does not enjoy 
the' party, although she makes a pretense of doing so, 
and after the farce is ended she returns home humiliated 
and ashamed of her conduct, and all because she feared 
to bear the dreadful title, "prude." And thus two souls 
are retarded in their growth because they feared ridi- 
cule. Each lost its poise and individuality because of 
that element of fear which has always been the direct 
cause of most of the misery and failures in physical life. 
It is this attribute of the objective mind that) para- 
lyzes the power of the artist to sing or to act before 
the public. He fears criticism or ridicule, and, by yield- 
ing to the power of his fear, places himself in the very 
position he most dreads. Then there are other persons 
who fear "bad luck" and "accidents." To the ignorant 
objective mind of man, these calamities seem to drop 
upon him out of nothingness; and the cause of either 
seems as intangible and difficult to understand as is the 
"Causeless Cause," or a "Dispensation of Providence." 
Because of a lack of knowledge concerning the opera- 
tion of the law} of vibration, he does not know how to 
escape from his misfortunes, and as soon as he emerges 
from one mishap another comes upon him, and, because 



200 From Incarnation to Fe-Incar nation. 

of his constant dread or fear of them, he has neither 
poise nor peace. 

The best way to destroy fear is to become indifferent 
to, and to lose interest in the miserable mental pictures 
that fear paints. 1 When man can recognize his own 
individuality, his indestructibility and his superiority as 
compared with his material environment, fear will 
wither and die out of his heart, since it can only live by 
reason of the! existence and exercise of his lower emo- 
tions. The artist who works for the world's flattery 
or praise, more than to attain perfection in art, is 
stimulated to work by the emotion personal vanity. 
He is striving to place himself before the world, and 
uses art as a lift to elevate him above the heads of his 
competitors for the people of the world to view. And 
because of this desire for personal laudation he suffers 
from and fears the criticism of the world. But if he 
is working to attain perfection instead of praise, then 
he becomes his own most severe critic and has no 
other critic to fear. He is grateful for honest criticism 
and for good suggestions, and his skill improves because 
he receives and profits by them; and he gains in charac- 
ter and poise as he becomes more and more indifferent 
to, or unconscious of, any ridicule or disparagement that 
may be expressed concerning him. This is because he 
does not take the pleasure or displeasure of the world 
into his consideration. 



l The History and Power of Mind, pp. 85-88, 92-99, 140, 141. 



Mental Attraction. 201 

Fear and falsity go hand in hand, and it is usually 
the man who has something to conceal who fears criti- 
cism or ridicule. It may be that it is nothing but his 
ignorance which he fears will be exposed and laughed 
at; and in this case it is the position before the world, 
that he is unworthily trying to maintain, that he fears 
he may lose. Or if he has not yet gained the desired 
position, but hopes to do so, then he fears that criticism 
may prevent him from gaining that which does not 
belong to him and which he does not deserve to have. 
If he would but recognize the truth about himself, that 
he is an evolving soul trying to reach perfection in all 
things, instead of trying to make a pretense of perfec- 
tion, and if he would also recognize his inherent divinity 
and therefore his indestructibility, he could not lose 
his poise, because he would know he could not fail to 
gain his own. 

With the progressive soul there is a direct reversal 
to this order of things. Because he has ceased to love 
material things better than mental or spiritual qualities, 
he has no fear of losing his material possessions, and 
gives to each article its proper value and place in his 
estimation. Knowing that the world and all it . con- 
tains is perishable and therefore transitory, he is wise 
enough to select from the mental and spiritual planes 
of being his treasures, which are imperishable and ever- 
lasting. If he does not remember his soul name, he 
selects one, that, of all the names he has ever heard, 



202 From. Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

is the most 1 beautiful to him; and when alone he calls 
himself by that sacred name. He places the greater 
part of his consciousness upon the mental plane by 
living in his thought creations. ' He depends upon his 
inspirations for his pleasure and happiness rather than 
upon the dross and tinsel of material things. To him, 
because he is well poised, the kaleidoscopic scenes of 
the material world are but passing shows. They are 
things to look upon, but not to live upon. 

Evolutionary work never needs to be protected by 
the soul who is doing the work: because it will outlive 
all petty, ridicule or unkind criticisms that may be put 
upon it. And it will also outlive the personalities of 
those who condemn it. Truth can never be destroyed. 
For a time it! may become obscured by falsehood and 
deceit, but it cannot die any more than the soul can 
die who writes or speaks it. Every soul should have 
its aim, its object in life; and that object should be 
its ideal for good, and it should work with all its earnest- 
ness to reach that ideal and to become a part of it. To 
gain and to maintain the poise which cannot be over- 
thrown or destroyed while working for its ideal it 
should constantly declare: "I am a soul, imperishable 
and indestructible, and there is nothing for me to fear." 

The object in dwelling so long on the subject of fear 
is twofold. First, to show that most of the calamities 
which befall men are produced by the fear which is an 
attribute of the animal or objective mind, and, second, 



Mental Attraction. 203 

to emphasize the deterrent effect that fear has upon 
the evolution of humanity. The mind being magnetic 
draws to itself whatever it persistently dwells upon; 
and the calamities in life are drawn to man by the law 
of attraction through his fear, because they are nega- 
tive, and therefore more easily attracted than his posi- 
tive creations. This aspect of the operation of the law 
was fully presented in "The History and Power of 
Mind," and will not be repeated here. 

The Law of Attraction is a fundamental principle 
underlying the Law of Success, but it is not the only 
principle. And the failure to recognize this fact is the 
cause of many of the seeming failures in the operation 
of the law. The three elements which constitute the 
Law of Success are, first, a clear mental image of the 
object to be attained; second, the condition of the mind 
while in pursuit of its, object, and, third, the conserva- 
tion of energy. 

The shortest distance between two points is a 
straight line, and if a man has in view only his present 
position and an indefinite point to which lie would 
attain, he cannot travel in a straight line or take the 
shortest route toward his object. Therefore, one 
should not strive for, or demand, a general success, but 
should, after deliberate thought, determine in what line 
of work he desires specific success and then work to 
attain it. This is the first element. 



204 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

The second element is the mode of mind one should 
maintain while working for success. And it is here 
that mental attraction performs a most important part. 
An optimistic mode of mind brings success, because 
optimism is evolutionism and works with instead of 
against the Law of Success. It is but another name 
for progression, and the optimist is the soul who has 
gained his mental poise and can see physical* life in all 
its vicissitudes under an optimistic light. He has 
reached a point of development where he can look 
unmoved and undisturbed upon the hurrying, worrying 
members of society who are frantically rushing about 
after some external thing to give them pleasure or 
happiness. The pessimist hates him because his vibra- 
tions have been disturbed by him. When optimistic 
thought comes into contact with pessimistic thought 
it has the same effect upon it that the sunlight and 
pure air have upon the contents of an underground 
dungeon. The rapid rates of vibration of the sunlight 
and the oxygen dry the dampness which produced the 
mustiness and mould in the place and raise them to 
higher rates of vibration. But the mould forms and 
the odor of mustiness are disturbed and destroyed by 
the change, and the creatures that were born and bred 
in the darkness of the dungeon and depended upon it 
for concealment are compelled by the change to seek 
another habitation or adjust themselves to the new 
conditions. Because those creatures love the darkness 



Mental Attraction. 205 

and do not wish to be disturbed it is not a kindness to 
continue to provide dungeons for them to exist in. 
Evolution says, "Move on or cease to encumber the 
earth with your presence, since much is still to be 
gained before the night comes on when all things must 
rest." Here is an optimist who is a tourist and has 
reached a resting place in the sunlight on a mountain 
above the shadows of the valley below. He looks back 
upon his fellow-tourists who are struggling and stum- 
bling over thei path which he has trod. And because 
he has travelled that road he is in a position to direct 
and advise the others. But until they have overcome 
the first part of their journey and have approached 
sufficiently near to see the point of advantage the opti- 
mist has gained, they can neither understand nor appre- 
ciate the value of any advice he could give. 

Because he knows that he and all his fellow-tourists 
are in eternity, he has ceased to worry or to hurry. 
He knows that the mountain he is climbing is one of 
the "eternal hills," and will continue to be in that iden- 
tical place long after those who are now struggling up 
its rough and rocky sides have left this mundane sphere, 
and he stops and rests and enjoys the scenery as' it 
seems to be unrolled before him. But to the man 
below him who has limited himself to a three months' 
vacation from business, and who thinks he must "get 
the worth of his money," by crowding as much sight- 
seeing as possible into those three short months, the 



206 Prom Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

deliberation of the optimist is positively aggravating. 
He feels that it should be resented by every active, 
industrious individual in the) party, and remarks to the 
person nearest him that "life is too short to be spent 
mooning over clouds and colorings." He frets and 
fumes because some of his party are late for the first 
train back to their hotel, and he paces up and down 
the platform before the railroad station and works 
himself into chills and fever because he is obliged to 
wait for the next train. He did not see the glorious 
sunrise, because he was running after his courier to 
know if the lunch basket had been properly packed; 
and he did not see the sunset because he was mentally 
upset about missing his train. 

The optimist knows how the little man feels, because, 
at one time, he felt the same about similar trifles; and 
he also knows better than to argue with or attempt to 
show him his mistake, because he would resent the 
interference. So he looks unmoved upon his tempestu- 
ous outbursts of temper and smiles while the little 
man storms. 

When the three months tour is ended and the party 
of tourists return home, the little man has nothing but 
complaints to make regarding his experiences. He 
went away with the anticipation of getting rest and 
pleasure, but got nothing but disappointment and 
fatigue. His expenses had been much more than he 
was able to bear, and he remembered nothing but the 



Mental Attraction. 207 

misfortunes and mishaps which befell him. He also 
found that everything at home and in his business had 
gone wrong during his absence. Burglars had entered 
his house, as he knew they would, and had taken away 
his silver. At his place of business the cashier had 
decamped with the contents of the safe, as he feared he 
would, and he himself was bitterly discouraged. 

This was because his objective mind was in absolute 
control of the situation and had rushed him around 
without an aim or a purpose. He wanted to go some- 
where and was not quite certain where he wanted to go. 
He did not go to the mountains because he desired to 
see the wonderful productions of nature, but he went 
because other persons, whose society he desired, were 
going. He made such a din and confusion with his 
fussing and complaining that he could not hear any 
suggestions of hist subjective mind or intuition if they 
had been made to him, and he was constantly getting 
into trouble because of his lack of intuition and poise. 

The optimist enjoyed every moment of the time 
while on his journey and saw enough of the wonders 
of nature for his thoughts to live upon during the 
coming year; and he returned rested and refreshed and 
ready to again take up his material duties. Because he 
expected to find his home and his business in harmo- 
nious conditions, he found them so. He did not have 
his pocket picked, neither did he lose his purse nor 



208 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

any of his baggage. This was because he ruled his 
objective mind under any or all circumstances. 

It is the objective mind that creates the bad karma 
and otherwise builds all the misfortunes for man. 1 And 
so long as man permits his lower, animal mind to con- 
trol his affairs he will not become karmaless and free 
from misfortune. In the operation of the law govern- 
ing Demand and Supply the law works more rapidly 
with the optimist than with the pessimist, because the 
karmic obstacles in the path of the optimist have been 
largely removed or overcome, while the karmic 
obstacles for the pessimist are still in the way and 
delay the coming of his demonstrations. 

Then, too, the optimist has ceased to create new 
karmic obstacles for himself, because he Controls his 
objective mind, while the pessimist is constantly creat- 
ing new karma through the activity of his objective 
mind. And these karmic conditions not only affect the 
present life, but it also affects the next birth conditions. 
For example, here are two brothers and both are born 
in poverty. They commence life under unfavorable 
financial conditions, and because of this both are pessi- 
mistically inclined; but as the years go by, the views 
of one of the brothers begin to change. He finds that 
his affairs run much smoother when he looks upon life 
philosophically. He knows nothing of Demand and 



'The History and Power of Mind, pp. 72-77. 



Mental Attraction. 209 

Supply as a law, but unconsciously uses that law, and 
by so doing overcomes much of his past karmic accu- 
mulations and also saves himself from making much 
future bad karma. 

His brother, however, becomes a confirmed pessimist, 
and passes out of life in that unfortunate mental con- 
dition. The optimistic brother lives to old age, and 
passes out of physical life comparatively happy because 
of the poise he gained and maintained during the latter 
part of his life. When these two souls incarnate again 
the pessimistic soul is born into poverty and misfortune 
as the result of the mental creations he made during his 
last life, and the optimistic soul is born this time into 
affluent circumstances. His family and friends are well- 
to-do, and, because of the poise he, had gained during 
his last life, this time he is born with increased indi- 
viduality and mental force. In this life the opportunity 
is given to both of these souls to learn something of 
the science of life, and both, undertake to demonstrate 
for themselves. The man who during his last life was 
a pessimist does not have his demands met as 1 quickly 
as does the optimistic man, and he becomes discouraged 
and wonders why the law does not work as readily for 
him as for the other man. 

Divine Law must work through instruments, and the 
most available instruments the pessimistic soul is sur- 
rounded by, and through which his demands would be 
most likely to be met, are persons who, like himself, are 



210 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

in straightened circumstances. This is due to the oper- 
ation of the Law of Attraction. They were attracted 
to him and he was attracted to them because they 
were of a common or a like rate of vibration. If he 
makes a demand for money, being surrounded by per- 
sons who have no money or no opportunities for get- 
ting money, it could not come to him as soon or as 
easily as if he were surrounded by those who had it and 
who could be used by the Law as instruments to meet 
his demands. Then the Law must find other instru- 
ments who can be used in this man's behalf. This 
often causes delay, because there are so many adverse 
conditions to be met and overcome, and one of the 
greatest of these is the free will of the persons whom 
the Law must use. 

God — Divine Mind — never coerces Its children to 
do anything nor to give anything. It gives free will, 
but makes suggestions. If men follow their impres- 
sions, which are often God's suggestions, then they 
are working as Divine Law's instruments. But if they 
do not follow their impressions, then they do not work 
with the Law but against it. 

It is not difficult for the Law to meet the demand 
of the man who is surrounded by persons who have 
plenty of money, because the instruments through 
which those demands can be met are available. And 
perhaps because of his past association with them there 
are karmic debts which they owe to him, and which 



Mental Attraction, 211 

may now be paid through the operation of the Law 
of Demand and Supply. But in time the demands of 
both men will be met. 

The third element 1 in the Law of Success is the con- 
servation of force. By force is meant not only the 
mental but also physical force. Because without a 
strong physical body the mental powers have no mate- 
rial center to operate through. The conservation of 
mental energy requires that the greatest expenditure 
of force should be directed toward the attainment of 
the particular success selected, rather than that it 
should be diffused in an attempt to attain success along 
several lines simultaneously. In other words, a person 
should devote the greater part of the time given to 
concentration in concentrating upon that particular 
success which he most desires to attain. 1 

To conserve physical force the personal magnetism of 
an individual must be maintained. A waste of the mag- 
netic force may be caused in two ways : first, by volun- 
tarily depleting himself by overwork in behalf of him- 
self or of others, and, second, through vampirization. 2 

Demagnetization, produced by vampirization of the 
physical body until it is no longer of use to the soul 
as an instrument, is! a hindrance from which thousands 
of persons are suffering at this point in the evolution 



x The History and Power of Mind, pp. 162-167. 
2 The History and Power of Mind, pp. 44-46. 



212 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

of the race. And this condition exists with both sexes, 
and should be declared against by every progressive, 
thinking, striving soul who desires to be of benefit to 
his fellow-men. It is not the duty of any individual 
to submit to vampirization, or to permit another to 
retard him in his evolution in any other way. If his 
karmic connections seem to bind him to unpleasant 
environment he should either live out the disagreeable 
conditions, so far as the material or physical connec- 
tions are concerned, or get out of them by demanding 
to be released from them; but in any event he should 
reserve and maintain his rights as a soul to think and 
to study and to grow in spite of the opinions of another 
individual to the contrary. Vampirization produces 
demagnetization, and when a man's body is demag- 
netized he has been robbed of his magnetic force until 
the atoms composing his body have ceased to vibrate 
or to rotate harmoniously together. • 

Magnetic attraction in the physical body is caused 
by the polarization of atoms. But the law of attrac- 
tion which controls polarization operates with equal 
force upon all the planes of being. There is a positive 
and a negative side to everything in the/ world, and a 
body has magnetic polarity when the positive sides of 
the atoms contact the negative sides of the atoms 
which compose it. And demagnetization is produced 
by the destruction of this relationship. In other words, 
when the endless atomic chains of a physical body and 



Mental Attraction. 213 

brain have been broken, as it were, by the positive side 
of some of the physical atoms contacting the positive 
sides of other physical atoms, then, instead of a har- 
monious condition existing between the blood, bones, 
muscles and nerves, there arises an imperfect circulation 
or stoppage of the blood, a crumbling or brittleness of 
the bones, a cramping or withering of the muscles and 
a jangling or paralysis of the nerves. And all this suf- 
fering may be caused by a physical body coming into 
continuous daily contact with another physical body 
that' takes its magnetic force more rapidly and in 
greater quantities than it can be drawn again from the 
magnetic cosmic forces surrounding it. 

There are individuals upon the material plane who 
exist solely by magnetic vampirization. 1 They do not 
depend upon nor draw their forces from the cosmic 
currents, but, human parasites as they are, they live 
upon the magnetism of other individuals; and if it 
should come to pass that they were to be isolated from 
other human beings their bodies would wither and die 
from a lack of magnetic supply. Although constantly 
bathing in the great sea of cosmic, magnetic force, they 
cannot absorb their magnetism from it, and this is 
because the currents which compose it are too rapid 
and too universal for them. But they can and do fasten 
upon other individuals, and, like leeches, absorb 



L The History and Power of Mind, pp. 129-130. 



214 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

through the tiny, positive part of themselves the per- 
sonal magnetism of their victims. This is because the 
atoms composing the bodies of these individuals are 
more negative than positive. They are not poised, and 
therefore do not rotate regularly. As compared with 
cosmic objects, they are meteoric and have no fixed 
orbit or elliptical motion. As compared with so-called 
inanimate things upon the earth, they are topheavy 
like inverted church steeples or baseball bats. Because 
of the negativeness of their physical atoms the bodies 
of these individuals are loosely put together, and are 
easily disintegrated. Such persons are always in 
trouble, and are constantly meeting with mishaps and 
misfortunes. 

They ask advice of every one whom they meet, but 
rarely follow it when it is given. They are always 
looking for some person to help them, either finan- 
cially or physically, but usually resent mental assistance 
because of their own preconceived opinions. They 
desire to know of all the seeming misfortunes of other 
persons, and take especial delight in listening to a trial 
by jury of a noted criminal. If a murder or a suicide 
has been committed they will go any distance and 
suffer almost any inconvenience to witness the muti- 
lated corpse — and the greater the mutilation the greater 
pleasure they seem to derive from looking at it. If a 
horse is killed by a motor car they will stand for hours 
watching" that dead carcass, and will struggle and fight 



Mental Attraction. 215 

with each other for the best positions from which to 
see it. They buy and read the most sensational papers, 
magazines and books on the market, and then insist 
upon relating or describing the grewsome things they 
have read or seen to every one who will listen to them. 
This morbid condition of mind is due to the attraction 
of like for like. Because these individuals are irregu- 
lar in both their mental and physical vibrations, they are 
attracted to the unusual and irregular conditions in life; 
and if there is a railway collision or a steamboat boiler 
explosion they are usually among the killed or injured. 
Among electricians they would be called dielectrics, 
because they are non-conductors of force. They receive 
but do not give force, and the force they receive does 
not seem to appreciably improve their general demag- 
netized negativeness. Evolutionistically they are like 
the crystallized salts of ammonia, and must be dissolved 
into a fluidic condition and be mixed with other ingre- 
dients before they will be of much value to humanity. 
And since every physical thing is but the material 
expression of the mind that produced it, and whom it 
represents, it is but a natural consequence that the 
minds or souls of these negative individuals must neces- 
sarily be left behind by the progressive ones on their 
evolutionary journey. And this is not a regretable 
thing to contemplate, since they will not be lost, but 
will each be taken back again into the bosom of the 
Infinite to be brought forth during another Cosmic 



216 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

Day. The real regretable feature is the fact that pro- 
gressive souls, those who are capable of reaching higher 
planes of consciousness before the Cosmic Night comes 
on, are permitting themselves to be retarded in growth 
while submitting to the vampirization of these non- 
entities. For strong souls are waiting for them, and 
are hoping and trying to make something out of them, 1 
and are under the hallucination that it is their duty to 
bear these others' burdens, because they are too weak 
or too indolent to bear them for themselves. This is a 
fearful mistake. Now that the race has reached its 
majority, every soul must stand or fall for itself; and 
souls who are able to press forward and attain should 
be warned of the danger they incur by needless delay. 
Here is a woman. She is a strong soul, but is wedded 
to a man who is diametrically opposed to her in nature. 
True it is that it was a karmic connection that brought 
them together in this life, but it was karmic only so far 
as the physical, or sex union was concerned. The 
woman is most anxious to read and to study along 
the lines of advanced thought. She knows that she is 
capable of progressing, but her husband, who is a fret- 
ful, spiteful, negative invalid, will not permit a book or 
a paper that advocates advanced thought to be brought 
into the house. He knows nothing about evolution or 
progression, nor does he wish to. But he demands 



Linked Lives, p. 141. 



Mental Attraction. 217 

and receives the undivided attention of his wife, and is 
jealous of even her thoughts. He does not permit her 
to be alone for a moment, either night or day, but 
watches every expression of her face and contradicts 
every statement she makes. He is not happy either 
with or without her company, because happiness is a 
condition of mind he knows nothing about. He nags, 
and scolds, and yet clings to her, and manages to keep 
his body and soul together by aid of the magnetism he 
takes from her. Because she is wedded to him, she 
believes it to be her wifely duty to> sacrifice her life, if 
it should be necessary, for his good, and, because he 
does not wish her to read the books he does not like, she 
refrains from doing so. Because he will not be left for 
a moment alone, she devotes her entire time to him. 

He vampirizes her body until it becomes so badly 
demagnetized that she cannot use it, and she is finally 
forced out of her vehicle without having gained in this 
life any of the knowledge or wisdom she craved. Thus 
this whole incarnation has been wasted, so far as soul 
progression was concerned, because of her yielding to 
the selfish, personal wishes of a nonentity. Mentally 
and physically enslaved, as she was, by her husband's 
will, she heard nothing but his pessimistic opinions; 
and because of his inharmonious vibrations, optimisti- 
cally inclined individuals were not welcome visitors at 
her home. And thus not only did this soul lose this 
incarnation, but, because of the pessimistic thought 



218 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

creations among which she lived for so many years, she 
will be drawn into a most wretched environment for her 
next life. She will then be born surrounded with 
poverty, sickness and gloom, and she will be over- 
shadowed from infancy to womanhood, and perhaps 
to the end of that life, with the fearful materialized 
creations that were mentally created for her in this life, 
and which she tacitly accepted. 

The Law of Mental Attraction operates as regu- 
larly and as unerringly as does the law of gravity, 
which is a part of it, and therefore every mind or soul 
is a center of gravity for itself. Man is a little vortex 
or world, and becomes possessed of everything, whether 
it be good or ill, that he pictures in his radius or aura. 
As the thought creations of Gods and of men exist 
within the atmosphere or aura of the earth, and 
through the operation of the law of physical attrac- 
tion or gravitation are magnetically drawn to the 
earth, and are held upon the earth, so do the mental 
creations remain in the aura of a soul, or little world, 
until they are materialized and possessed by the souls 
who created them, or for whom they were created. For, 
like the creative Gods of the heavens who materialized 
Divine Mind's pictures upon the earth, so men can and 
do create for other men as well as for themselves. And 
if their creations are accepted and are not destroyed by 
mental repulsion, they will materialize and do the work 
that their nature compels them to do. And the mag- 



Mental Attraction. 219 

netic attraction of the mind for whom they were created 
will hold to them as tenaciously, although only pos- 
sessed of them by adoption, as the material creations of 
earth are held in their positions by the gravic force of 
the earth. 



LECTURE NINE. 



DEATH. 



From the moment the objective or animal mind was 
created upon the earth, it has never ceased to fear the 
transition called death. This is due to its intense desire 
for life, and to the fact that it is utterly oblivious to 
all its past states of consciousness, and is entirely un- 
conscious of a continued state of existence upon any 
plane other than the material. To the objective mind, 
physical form is life, and therefore it believes that to 
maintain life, form must be preserved. Since its desire 
for life is greater than all its other desires, disintegra- 
tion of form, for the animal or objective mind, is the 
greatest misfortune that can come upon it. And until 
each subjective mind shall be able to impress upon its 
objective mind the truth that life is God, and therefore 
is eternal, and that its personal existence is not de- 
pendent upon physical form, human beings will con- 
tinue to fear disintegration of form more than any- 
thing else in the world. 

Believing, as men did, that immortality could be 
gained only through the preservation of the material 



222 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

form, and, because they desired to again meet those 
whom they had loved and had so mysteriously lost 
through "death," they used every available means to 
preserve intact the deserted physical bodies, with the 
hope and the belief that some time those same forms 
would be re-animated and be re-united with the be- 
reaved who were left behind. Therefore it was the 
objective mind's desire for immortality that caused men, 
of a more remote period than this, to have their own 
and their friends' physical bodies preserved after the 
souls had departed to other realms. 

By some peoples it was thought that "death" was a 
form of suspended animation and that, by means of it, 
the life principle, or soul of man, was locked into his 
body, there to remain until some great Celestial Being 
should come to earth and should arouse and restore him 
to activity. To persons of this faith the destruction or 
loss of a physical body caused greater sorrow, if pos- 
sible, than did "death"; since such a loss prevented the 
possibility of resurrection and of consequent immortal- 
ity. There were other peoples who believed that the 
soul of man was not locked inside his body after 
"death," but was bound to it by fetters that permitted 
it to go but a few feet from the body. And the fol- 
lowers of this faith believed it to be a sacred duty to 
daily place food and drink at the head or feet of the 
corpse, or somewhere within its reach, in order that the 
life principle could consume them and thus be kept 






Death. 223 

strong and able to again use the body when the time 
should come far it to be restored to activity. To these 
persons the failure to provide food and drink for an 
exca mated soul was a greater crime than was murder, 
and was punishable with slow torture, such as starva- 
tion, or some fearful affliction which was believed to 
be equal to what the soul had suffered in consequence 
of the culprit's neglect. 

To the Occultist there is no "death," according to 
the common acceptance of the term. The condition 
called "death" is but a complete demagnetization of 
the atoms composing a material form. Complete de- 
magnetization of a form produces absolute disintegra- 
tion of that form, and since the atoms, of which a form 
is composed, are held together only by the magnetic 
attraction that exists between them, disintegration can- 
not become complete until all the magnetism has been 
withdrawn from the form which those atoms combined 
to compose. Therefore, a physical body cannot be 
properly called dead until it is entirely disintegrated; 
and any or all artificial means which may be used upon 
it to prevent it from disintegration, but retards demag- 
netization. 

In lectures six and seven of this course, vibration, 
and magnetic attraction and repulsion of the atoms were 
discussed; and the student is referred to those two 
lectures for information upon those subjects. In lecture 
eight of this course demagnetization, by vampirization, 



224 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

was introduced, and will now be further discussed, since 
vampirization is usually the beginning of disintegration 
or ''death," as this lecture is entitled. 

Demagnetization of a physical body is produced by 
the constant expenditure of its magnetism in greater 
quantities than it is received, and this condition may 
be produced in various ways. In lecture six, of this 
course, on page 143, the manner in which magnetic 
power or force is generated and expressed was touched 
upon and will not be repeated. But in connection with 
the subject under discussion it may be well to add that, 
since the generation of force, which is always magnetic, 
is wholly dependent upon the rotary motion of the 
atoms composing a center, and, since the expression, 
or giving of force, is dependent upon the elliptical mo- 
tion of a center, then it is not difficult to understand 
why the physical body of a man or of a beast generates 
the most force when it is resting or sleeping. In other 
words, natural sleep, which is absolute rest to a physical 
body or center, is the greatest generator of magnetic 
force of any condition into which that body can enter; 
and therefore, in order to prevent an early "death," or 
the demagnetization of a physical body, the same num- 
ber of hours should be given to sleep as are given to 
physical activity during each day, or each twenty-four 
hour cycle. 

Every thing that has form, whether so called inani- 
mate or animate, is created subject to cyclic law; and, 



Death. 225 

during the first half of its daily, weekly, monthly, or 
yearly cycles possesses much more magnetic force than 
it does during the latter half of those cycles. This is 
due to the fact that magnetic force is constantly flowing 
and ebbing through material forms, whether those 
forms are suns, worlds, or men. And this flowing and 
ebbing of magnetic force may also be called action and 
reaction, magnetization and demagnetization, or life 
and "death." 

When a world is created and has been given its orbit, 
one half of the time it travels toward its sun and the 
other half it travels away from it. When it is going 
toward the sun it is becoming magnetized by the sun 
and is then generating more force than it is giving. 
But when it is going from the sun it is giving more 
magnetism than it is receiving, and all inhabited worlds 
are alike in this respect. For example take the earth. 
From the twenty-first day of December until the twen- 
ty-first day of June of each year, she is being magnet- 
ized; because at that time the greater part of her surface 
is locked in snow and ice, the vegetation, which vampir- 
izes her magnetism, is resting and sleeping, and she is 
receiving magnetic force from the sun in greater quan- 
tities than she is giving it to the creatures that are 
living and depending upon her for that force. This 
period is her flood tide.. But from the twenty-first day 
of June until the twenty-first day of December this order 
of things is reversed and she is then giving to her de- 



226 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

pendents more magnetism than she is receiving; because 
she has then turned and is going from the sun, which 
she in her turn vampirizes. And then, too, during that 
time all vegetation and lower animal life have awakened 
from the winter's period of inactivity or rest, and are 
drawing from the earth magnetic forces in order that 
they may express those forces individually through the 
various forms and productions of which they are capa- 
ble. And thus on the twenty-first day of June of each 
year demagnetization of the earth by vampirization be- 
gins. If she were to continue to recede from the sun 
indefinitely, that demagnetization would finally become 
"death," or disintegration; and she and every form 
which now exists upon and vampirizes her would cease 
to exist as form. 

But, as conditions now are, the earth is gradually giv- 
ing more magnetism than she receives, and the time 
will come when she must rest or disintegrate. This is 
because, as she grows older, her responsibilities increase 
instead of diminish. For, as men and beasts multiply in 
numbers, more demands are made upon her for their 
maintenance and her natural resources are consumed in 
greater quantities. Her vital fluids and gases are drawn 
out of her, and, through consumption, are changed into 
hydro-carbon vapors and aeriform matter and are left 
behind her in space as she whirls rapidly through it in 
her orbit. Then, with each added year, she is robbed of 
more and more of her minerals which, when in their 



Death. 227 

natural states, as strata, serve as repositories for the 
magnetic force she receives from the sun during her 
flood tides. 

But in cosmos the Drvine Law provides periods of 
rest for Its worlds and suns, as It provides opportuni- 
ties for rest for men and beasts who live upon the worlds. 
These cosmic rests are utilized by the planets to the full 
limit of time given to them, and, because of these rests, 
are their lives and their usefulness prolonged. In the 
life of a world there are seven great periods of inactivity 
each of which lasts as long as do its periods of action, 
and in this manner each world is enabled to regain some 
of the magnetism of which it has been robbed. But it 
never fully regains it, for, if that were possible, it would 
continue, in the form in which it began to exist, until 
the end of the Cosmic Day in which it was created; and 
this would not be desirable, since, in order that evolu- 
tion may not be limited or delayed by ancient forms, 
all forms must be made to give way to new when their 
period of usefulness is ended. To illustrate a rest in 
cosmos, a few pages will be quoted from the diary of an 
advanced student of Occultism. 

"My Master promised that to-day we would go and 
see a world that is about to enter into rest for many 
thousand years, and it is with most intense interest I 
awaited his coming. At midnight he arrived and in a 
few moments we were on our way. ***** 
At a great distance we saw a stellar group — a cosmic 



228 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

x 

community — which, independent of all others, seemed 
to have become a system of its own. A mass of molten 
cosmic matter formed a central sun or magnet for the 
system and was at least one thousand times as large, 
and, although not nearly so dense, yet, I think, weighed 
three hundred times as much as does our earth. 

"That great orb was enveloped in clouds of vapor, 
which, at so great a distance, seemed to have been 
created by the humidity of the atmosphere surrounding 
it coming into contact with the intense heat it gener- 
ated. And those vapory clouds were in a constant and 
a tumultuous commotion. At times they seemed to be 
tossed about as if a great consciousness were playing at 
golf with thenf; and then they became piled high upon 
each other like mountains, while from the glowing orb 
behind we saw a rich golden light that illuminated them 
as if by calcium flame. Sometimes they were suddenly 
torn apart, and, through the rifts, there streamed great 
sheets of fire which gave to them the appearance of rose 
colored billows of foam. Then again the rifts were 
closed and the whole mass assumed a dull grey color as 
though a cloud of smoke had passed between us and 
the scene. 

"As we came nearer, it was most evident that the 
flaming mass of molten matter, or sun, was whirling 
through space with tremendous velocity, and was drag- 
ging after it by its powerful magnetic attraction five 
smaller globes or satellites; and those worlds when com- 



Death. 229 

pared with their magnet appeared as fireflies beside an 
arc-light; yet the smallest of them was considerably 
larger than is our earth. Approaching still nearer, we 
discovered that the satellite furtherest from its sun was 
undergoing great changes. Drawn, as it was, by an ir- 
resistible force, it continued to follow its orbit, but its 
rotary motion had almost ceased, and, like a great dead 
fish upon the sea, it floated in space and was drawn 
helplessly in the wake of the monster orb that still at- 
tracted and controlled it. From its appearance I con- 
cluded that it was the oldest of the five satellites, and 
my Master told me that it was closing the sixth great 
cycle or period in its evolution. 

"When we entered the atmosphere of that globe we 
found it stiflingly hot. Great copper colored clouds 
hung low in the sky and the light from its sun had been 
turned into shade by them. Gazing through the hazy 
dimness of the shadows, it seemed that the glowing orb 
that served as sun had refused to longer give of its light 
and brightness to that world — its suffering child. For, 
through that dense atmosphere which could not be 
penetrated by a lesser light, the sun had the appearance 
of a dark, crimson sea of clotted blood; and as we 
looked about upon the shadows it seemed as if the moon 
and stars had also refused to shine upon that helpless 
world, and that it was left to meet its fate in darkness. 

" 'Why does not the sun shine here the same as it 
shines upon the other planets in this group?' I asked of 
my Master; and he replied: 



230 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

" The sun has not ceased to shine, but this planet, 
because of its inharmonious condition, has created these 
shadows that lie between itself and the sun. Its vibra- 
tions and the vibrations of these clouds have obscured 
the sun's light. It is in the same condition with a man 
who has become over-wrought with work or with play, 
and, if it were possible to use the word in connection 
with a tired world, I would say this planet is suffering 
from cosmic neurasthenia, and for a time must go into 
absolute rest or become disintegrated.' 

"At that moment, just beneath us, we saw a ruined 
city on that strange globe and went down to examine 
its condition. Round us everywhere were evidences 
of destruction and dissolution. There were monstrous 
heaps of stone that were now but the remnants of once 
beautiful buildings. And there were also crushed and 
crumbling walls of stone that had once enclosed huge 
structures of most magnificent and lofty proportions. 

"A race of beings both wise and powerful must have 
had their homes upon that planet, since such huge 
blocks of granite could never have been lifted to their 
elevated positions without the aid of powerful machin- 
ery that had been devised and operated by the intuitive 
minds and muscular strength of men. And, once hav- 
ing been placed, they never could have been dislodged 
and tossed into such abandoned confusion except by a 
terrific convulsion of nature. 

"Everywhere there seemed to be an ominous calm 



Death. 231 

that, like a fearful mental depression, had settled upon 
that ruined city and all the land surrounding it. Not a 
breath of air was stirring, and the vegetation was as 
dried as if it were standing in a fiery furnace. The 
leaves from the once beautiful shade trees had fallen to 
the ground and were curled and seared almost beyond 
recognition as leaves. Lying in the cracked and hard- 
ened soil at the bottom of a fountain basin were the 
withered roots and stems of what had been a water lily 
plant. All indications pointed to the fact that for many, 
many days this intolerable heat had been gradually in- 
creasing until it had absorbed all the moisture and had 
taken the lives of all the creatures who had lived in that 
place. It was also evident that the men who had built 
that city had deserted it; but my Master said: 'Come, 
let us go to the mountains, w T hich are at some distance 
beyond the city walls, and search for the people who 
lived here.' 

"It was as he expected to find. In the valley, on the 
brink of what had been a broad river, there were thou- 
sands of lifeless human bodies. The adults were gigan- 
tic in size; the half grown children were like our full 
grown men and the infants were like our children of five 
or six years of age. They had all fled from their homes 
to escape death from the falling walls of their dwellings, 
but had met it there in that valley by suffocation and 
thirst. For the river bed was dry and the dead and de- 
caying carcasses of fish and animals were lying in heaps 



232 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

upon the bottom where they had died fighting for the 
last drop of the precious liquid — water. 

"While we were gazing at the scene of ruin and dis- 
tress we became conscious of a trembling of the 
ground. Then there was a sound as if an explosion 
had occurred in the direction of the ruined city. It was 
followed by another and then another; and then we 
heard a fearful roar which seemed to increase in volume 
with every second until it seemed to come from almost 
beneath our feet. Then there was a swaying of the 
leafless branches of the trees, and a heaving up and 
down of the blackened soil, and soon there appeared 
great wide fissures where the ruined city had stood. A 
cloud of fire and smoke and gaseous fumes burst forth, 
and as suddenly and seemingly as easily as a pebble 
could be cast into a stream of water the remnants of 
the ruined city sank from sight between the awful jaws 
of that quaking ground. There was nothing left to 
mark the place where it had stood except a few stones 
which had helped to compose its outer walls. 

"This was the first earthquake I had ever witnessed 
and it impressed me very strongly. While I was think- 
ing of the great necessity that must have existed to pro- 
duce such a fearful catastrophe my Master said: 'A 
storm is coming,' and, looking upward at the sky I saw 
that the copper colored clouds had changed to a leaden 
grey, and it had become so dark that an object one 
hundred feet away was but dimly discernible. Then a 



Death. 233 

wind commenced to blow in spasmodic puffs and soon 
splashing rain drops pattered down upon the heated 
stones in the river bed. At last those dreadful vampire 
clouds were giving back to that suffering world the 
moisture which they had been robbing it of for weeks 
and months. But it had come too late. All life was 
extinct and not a creature was left alive to taste it and 
to be revived. 

"Far up the valley I heard a sound as of rushing wind. 
It came down the river course and brought a deluge 
with it. A sheet of water like a huge white curtain 
swept past us and from the heated ground a cloud of 
steam rose like a fog. The soil, cracked and hot, could 
not absorb the vital fluid in such quantities, and the 
torrents, rushing down the mountain sides, were re- 
ceived into the river bed and went sweeping swiftly on. 
The temperature, too, had fallen from torrid heat to al- 
most freezing cold, and still I saw no prospect of a dim- 
inution of that dreadful storm. And now the clouds 
were almost black with unshed rain and I understood 
that a cataclysm had begun. * ***** * 

"More than sixty days passed by before my Master 
permitted me to again visit that suffering world in what 
had seemed to me to be its death agony of fever heat 
and drouth; and when we went again we found all 
things submerged — except the mountain tops — and 
there was a cold greater and more intense than anything 
I ever knew. The waters were frozen into a solid sea of 



234 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

ice, and there was not a creature who could live a mo- 
ment upon that globe in that fearful frigid state. It 
was indeed a frozen corpse, and, wrapped in its mantle 
of ice and snow, which served as a burial shroud for all 
its latent forces, it had sunken into sleep not to wake 
again until the great cyclic law should call its forces 
forth on its resurrection day. 

"As we were leaving the frozen world, my Master 
said: 'It is with worlds as it is with men; they live, re- 
volving round their central suns until their material 
forces have been spent and they become physically de- 
magnetized and unfit for further use. Then their time 
of rest comes on. The throbbing, pulsing life force be- 
comes suspended, or is withdrawn, and their conscious- 
ness is changed from action to inaction. For action 
must be followed by reaction as surely as darkness fol- 
lows day.' " 

Like the Universe, cyclic law has always existed and 
is a fundamental principle underlying evolution. 1 Like 
life, it has always been and will forever continue to be. 
It commences its operations with an individual from 
the moment of the creation of that individual and ap- 
plies to men and beasts as well as to worlds. Because 
the earth is controlled by cyclic law, all the creatures 
who depend upon the earth for their existence are in- 
fluenced by the same cycles or periods of time that con- 



l The History and Power of Mind, pp. 94-97, 103-104, 163-164. 



Death. 235 

trol the earth. The inhabitants «of other planets are 
also subject to cyclic law, but because of the difference 
between the size of globes and the consequent differ- 
ence in the size of the orbit of each the cyclic periods 
on the different planets differ in length. 

For example. The earth makes her revolution around 
the sun in three hundred and sixty-five days and one- 
fourth of a clay; and this length of time upon this earth 
is called a yearly cycle. But the planet Uranus, being 
almost fifteen times the size of the earth, has so great 
an orbit as to require eighty-four years and one week of 
our time to make its revolution round the sun. And 
because the cyclic periods on the planet Uranus are so 
much greater than are those of the earth, the creatures 
that inhabit Uranus, being governed by the cyclic law 
operating upon that planet, also have longer cycles and 
live to a much greater age than do the creatures upon 
the earth. 

It is a self-evident truth that the more magnetic force 
a form expends the sooner it will become disintegrated 
as a natural consequence. And this is as true with the 
microcosm as it is with the macrocosm. The individual 
who works or plays for eighteen hours out of each 
twenty-four expends much more magnetic force than 
does the individual who sleeps and draws back to him- 
self his forces for twelve hours out of the twenty-four. 
As the earth has its flood and ebb tides, or the coming 
and going of its magnetic forces, so does every creature 



236 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

who lives upon her have its flood and ebb tides; and if 
man would but become wise enough to work with the 
cyclic law instead of against it, he would save himself 
much suffering and prolong his life to a greater length 
than he does. 

The moment a child is born his flood tide commences. 
He has then entered a world that will supply him with 
all the magnetic force he needs to use, but not to 
waste. Feeling his abundance of force, as a child, 
he romps and plays and expends much of it in this man- 
ner, but sleeps so soundly and so long each night, that 
he draws back to himself during those rest periods, more 
force than he has expended. Thus he is in constant 
possession of a sufficient surplus of magnetism to enable 
his physical body to grow and to expand. This condi- 
tion usually continues to exist until he has reached 
what is called "his majority," and then his body ceases 
to grow. Because of his increased responsibilities, he 
then begins to expend more magnetic force than he 
generates, or receives. This is due to the fact that he 
does not spend so much time in sleep as he formerly 
did, and, if he labors to live, perhaps he works for ten 
hours out of each twenty-four and then recreates or 
dissipates during the greater part of each night. If he 
is in possession of wealth and social position perhaps he 
may be imbued with the thought that he must "go the 
pace" or be disgraced, and then he searches for new and 
untried avenues through which he may expend or waste 



Death. 237 

his magnetism. It is true that he may be unconscious 
of the results of his wastefulness, and perhaps he does 
not know that disintegration or "death" commenced its 
work upon his body at the moment demagnetization 
began to exceed magnetization; but ignorance of the 
law does not excuse or exempt its offenders from con- 
sequences, and, after a few years of dissipation, he begins 
to call himself "old man" before he really feels the age 
that is so rapidly approaching as the result of his ex- 
travagances in the expenditure of force. 

When starting his career of dissipation the young of- 
fender of the law thinks "old man" a complimentary 
title, and bestows it generously upon himself and upon 
all the "other boys" whom he wishes to flatter. This 
is because the title implies extended experiences in dissi- 
pation, in which he takes great pride until the time 
comes when, as a result of_his physical excesses and 
frequent declarations that he is an "old man," and after 
some unusual expenditure of force, he is really brought 
to feel the age he has been declaring for himself. Then 
he begins to wonder why he cannot do the things he 
once did, and why a little fun tires him now so much. If 
he knew that "death" had already commenced to claim 
his body for its own, and that with every over-exertion 
or dissipation he was shortening his span of life, he 
would change his mode of living, the nature of his 
amusements, and his declarations for old age. 

To prevent disintegration or "death," and to prolong 



238 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

the existence of a physical body to one hundred or to 
one hundred and fifty years, men must make some radi- 
cal changes in their modern mode of living. They 
must give more time to sleep and more thought to what 
they eat and drink. At least one-half of a man's time 
should be given to rest or to sleep and his food should 
never be other than simple and wholesome. Highly 
spiced, and therefore indigestible things should be abol- 
ished. Pepper and all condiments containing peppers 
and mustards should never be taken into the stomach; 
since neither of these do any good, are neither nutritious 
nor satisfying to hunger, and serve only as irritants to 
the internal organs and intestines the same as they do 
when applied to the skin of the body. For his beverages 
man should drink nothing but pure water, either hot 
or cold, according as the occasion seems to require, and 
the unfermented juices of fruits; and the time given to 
labor, or to the necessary and direct expenditure of 
physical or magnetic force, should not exceed four or 
five hours of each day. He should learn to recognize 
and work with the cyclic law by never making extra or 
unnecessary exertions during his ebb tides which oper- 
ate during the last two weeks of his lunar months, and 
during the last six months of his yearly cycles. He 
should watch the expenditures of his magnetic force and 
never continue with them until physical exhaustion or 
depletion comes upon him. 

During the last half of his century he should save his 



Death. 239 

magnetism by sleeping and resting more than he did 
during the first half. And if by reason of some illness 
or mishap there should be an extra demand made upon 
his physical strength he should immediately supply that 
deficiency with electricity. When his century cycle has 
ended and the flood tide of his new century commences 
to supply him with its new force, if he has taken the 
proper care of his physical body and has kept it in a 
condition to receive and to make use of the new force, 
he will enter in upon his new cycle with much greater 
physical strength than he possessed during the first ten 
or fifteen years of his last century's ebb tide. 

But over-exertion or an unnecessary expenditure of 
magnetic force, for any cause, is not the only means by 
which demagnetization or "death" may be hastened or 
produced. There is the element of vampirization which 
must also be taken into consideration; and this is a very 
great factor in the process of disintegration. As men 
and beasts vampirize the earth and take from her her 
magnetic forces, so are men and beasts vampirized by 
each other and by the elements. In lecture eight of this 
course an illustration was given of a negative individual 
vampirizing and living off of the magnetism of another 
individual until his victim's forces were so greatly di- 
minished as to make it impossible to longer hold her 
body; and complete demagnetization or "death" ensued. 
The illustration was not that of an unusual condition to 
be found in the human family, but is more common 



240 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

than otherwise. For, either consciously or unconscious- 
ly, the stronger individuals are constantly giving of their 
magnetism to those with whom they associate who are 
weaker than themselves; and, whether it be a man or a 
beast that suffers from this kind of vampirization, the 
results are the same. 

Unconscious of the law governing the exchange of 
magnetism, it has been a custom with some persons to 
provide feeble or aged individuals with animal pets 
which they could vampirize. If a child were to suddenly 
become "ailing," as indisposition was sometimes called, 
it was often provided with a healthy puppy with which 
it was permitted to sleep and to play in order that it 
should regain its health. And old persons who were 
fast losing their magnetism would often insist upon, 
and be permitted to sleep with children or with younger 
persons in order that their magnetic forces should.be 
again restored.' But if aged persons were not permitted 
to prolong their physical lives by vampirizmg the force 
of younger individuals during sleep, then it has been a 
very noticeable fact that they were happiest, brightest 
and strongest when they were surrounded daily by chil- 
dren, or by younger persons. The man of eighty who 
seeks a wife always selects, if possible, a woman who is 
much younger than himself. And it is not an unheard 
of occurrence for a wealthy widow of sixty, or even of 
seventy-five years, to buy for herself a young husband 
of thirty. This is vampirization, and whether of a con- 



Death. 241 

scious or an unconscious nature, its results are the same. 

Then there is another form of vampirization which is 
of and by the elements of nature. In the same manner 
that man draws or absorbs from the atmosphere, on a 
beautiful spring day, the electric or magnetic force he 
needs and feels strengthened by having received, so do 
the cold, cutting winds of a frosty day in winter take 
from him his magnetism. It is a popular fallacy with 
the people who live in a cold climate, that it is healthful 
to walk, or to ride, or to be exposed to the freezing air 
of winter. And because such exposure brings the blood 
to the cheeks, it is believed to be revivifying to the in- 
dividuals who indulge in it. This is as much a mistaken 
belief as is that which makes a man take a plunge into a 
tub of cold water in order that he may be temporarily 
stimulated by bringing the blood to the surface of his 
body by violent friction after the plunge. 

A sudden shock to the system is always harmful, in- 
stead of helpful, and serves to shorten instead of to 
lengthen the span of life. Cold indicates a lowered rate 
of vibration. Cold water is vibrating at a lower rate 
than is warm or hot water. Cold wintry air is vibrating 
at a lower rate than is warm spring air; and a warm 
body, if exposed to cold air, or to cold water long- 
enough, will become demagnetized or frozen. When a 
body is frozen it is called dead ; and this condition is pro- 
duced by the cold air or cold water, in which it has been 
submerged, having vampirized or drawn out of it its 



242 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

magnetic forces. The man or woman who persists in 
being exposed to the cold winds of winter without his 
or her skin covered and protected from the wind, is vol- 
untarily submitting to vampirization and is hastening 
old age and decrepitude. The physician who tells a per- 
son to bare his neck to the cold in order to become 
toughened to the cold, and promises health to that per- 
son in consequence of his exposure, is either ignorant 
of the law which operates as vibration, or he is looking 
for another patient. The woman who persists in expos- 
ing her face without a veil, to protect her skin from the 
vampirizing cold air, becomes aged and wrinkled before 
the time for wrinkles, and the muscles of her face also 
grow weak and flabby in consequence of the exposure to 
cold. A glance at the wrinkled and grizzled old sailor 
who faces the storms before the mast should be a suffi- 
cient object lesson to show her the results of exposure 
to cold air and cold water. 

When the body and brain of a man are lowered below 
the normal rate his mental forces cannot manifest so well 
as when his blood is circulating and his body is vibrat- 
ing normally, and this is illustrated by the different 
mental conditions of the different peoples on the earth. 
For example: The mind of the Eskimo is never so 
active as is the mind of an East Indian. And history 
shows that the greatest civilizations have always been 
found in a warm climate. 

But there comes a time when disintegration or 



Death. 243 

"death" to the physical body or material form must 
come; and because of the breaking of family ties and of 
familiar associations this is often a sad occasion. To the 
evolving, developing soul who becomes disembodied, 
"death" is really a second birth into a higher plane of 
consciousness or realm, and it is by or through this 
transition that it becomes relieved of all physical pains 
and discomforts. But because of its love for the souls 
whom it is leaving upon the earth, and who mourn and 
grieve because of its absence, it is sometimes made to 
suffer great mental depression and sadness and is thus 
prevented from entering fully into the joys of the mental 
and spiritual planes of being. This is because the sor- 
row and lamentations of its earthly friends attract and 
hold it to earth. By their wishing or demanding that it 
shall return to them, it is drawn back by the magnetic 
attraction of love, and is sometimes deprived of mental 
or spiritual happiness for years because of its friends 
mourning for it. 1 

When the time has come for a soul to leave its earthly 
vehicle the real process of death is as natural as was the 
process of its birth into the world, and is not dissimilar. 
As the head of the human child is born first, and after- 
ward its body, so the head of the soul emerges and rises 
above its physical head. Then slowly the shoulders and 
body appear, and finally its limbs and feet. There are 



^Linked Lives, pp. 198-199. 



244 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

always other disembodied souls who are waiting to as- 
sist and to receive the passing soul, and, if the shock of 
its separation from the physical body has been so great 
that it is unconscious for a time — as is often the case — 
these disembodied soul friends support and strengthen 
it until it has regained its consciousness and enough of 
its magnetic strength to support itself. 

For the first few hours after its disembodiment a soul 
is never so strong as afterward, because so much of its 
magnetic force is still left in its deserted physical body. 
But as the body grows cold, because of the continuous 
lowering of the rate of vibrations of the atoms compos- 
ing it, the magnetic force is drawn into the soul who has 
just left it. With this added magnetism the disembodied 
soul gains strength and greater consciousness, and if the 
physical body should be cremated,_and not embalmed or 
entombed, the soul gains liberation from its physical 
body as soon as its physical atoms are dispersed. For 
there is a magnetic cord that binds the soul to its old 
body until complete disintegration has taken place, 
as the umbilical cord unites the infant to its pre-natal 
envelope, and it is as great a kindness to sever the mag- 
netic cord and liberate the soul from its deserted body, 
by cremation, as it is to cut the umbilical cord of the 
newly born infant and set it free from its incumbrances. x 

But sad as "death" or the disintegration of a physical 



i Linked Lives, pp. 195-197. 



Death. 245 

body may be to those who loved and lost it as a com- 
panion or friend, it is not to be compared with the sad- 
ness that comes to the souls who, by their missions, are 
sometimes compelled to witness the "second death" or 
the disintegration of another soul. This is a fearful fate, 
and it may be small comfort to know that it comes to 
the minority instead of the majority of disembodied 
souls who pass on to the subjective planes or realms. 
Diametrically opposed to the spiritual plane of con- 
sciousness called Nirvana, by the Eastern students of 
Occultism, is a plane which these same students know T 
as Avitchi. In our scripture it is called Hell, and repre- 
sents the very lowest depths of degradation into which 
an entity can fall. Nothing but conscious, persistent 
and unceasing transgression of the Divine Law can 
bring a soul to this dreadful place, a knowledge of the 
existence of which is never given to students until they 
are far enough advanced to be able to bear that knowl- 
edge without dangerously effecting them. 

Further details concerning this state of consciousness 
will be given in the last lecture of this course in connec- 
tion with the subject "Homes of the Soul." It is suffi- 
cient at this point to say that "second death" comes 
most to animal, or objective minds whose subjective 
minds have deserted them because of their persistent 
wickedness. 1 But there are rare occasions when a Son 



iRistory and Power of Mind, pp. 170-171, 176-177. 



246 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation, 

of God goes downward, instead of upward. When it 
yields and continues to yield to the suggestions of its 
animal mind until it comes to a point where it deliber- 
ately and consciously chooses the left hand instead of 
the right hand path, then it goes down into the nether 
world, instead of up into the higher, spiritual realms. 

"Second death" is produced in much the same man- 
ner as physical death or disintegration is produced. The 
vibrations of a dying soul grow slow and slower, and 
its specific gravity grows dense and denser until it can 
no longer remain upon what is called the first subjective 
plane, but is drawn by the law of attraction, which is 
also gravic force, down to a lower plane, to continue 
there its wretched existence with others of its kind. 
When disintegration really commences, like the old de- 
magnetized physical body it has left, it begins to grow 
dark and darker as its density increases, until it becomes 
as black as the realms into which it has sunken. For 
there is not one ray of light that penetrates the greatest 
depths of the awful darkness of that place. Then the 
form of the dying soul commences to change in shape. 
First the legs and arms usually begin to diminish in 
size and length until they have disappeared altogether, 
leaving the head and body absolutely limbless. Then 
the body commences to disintegrate and gradually dis- 
appears until there is nothing left but the head with its 
distorted features. And thus this disintegration or "sec- 
ond death" continues for centuries. But before the 



Death. 247 

form of the dying soul begins to be disintegrated or dis- 
membered there is a hope that it may be saved from 
that fearful fate and be raised or resurrected to a higher 
plane of consciousness. For there are strong and beau- 
tiful souls who voluntarily go down into those dreadful 
depths to try to help and to save the denizens of that 
nether world. If, as it does sometime occur, that one 
half of a soul has gone wrong and has sunken into hell 
and the other half has evolved to a point of development 
where it is able to undertake the work of trying to save 
its other half from annihilation, or "second death," then 
it descends and approaches as near its other half as its 
vibration will permit. And there it whispers words of 
encouragement and consolation to the sinful sufferer 
and offers help if it will but try to rise again. 

To an incarnated soul upon earth it would seem that 
any soul who had sunken into that place would need 
nothing but an opportunity to escape to consent to 
liberation, but this is not the case. In Avitchi or Hell 
a soul becomes so depressed with its wretchedness, so 
discouraged and so pessimistic that it often refuses to 
make the least effort to change its mode of thinking; 
and thus make it possible to rise out of its condition. 
This is because, by its many lives of perversity of 
thought and action, it has brought itself into a mental 
condition which holds it as firmly as prison walls and 
iron doors hold the incarcerated prisoner of State. 

It is a sad picture to look upon to see a beautiful soul 



248 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

pleading with its unhappy half and attempting to raise 
or to lead it to where it may catch a glimpse of a higher 
and a better plane of consciousness which it may gain if 
it will but make an effort for itself. For no soul has 
either the power or the right to save another against its 
will; and it matters not however far it may have ad- 
vanced in its development, it cannot bring another into 
happiness without that other's co-operation and con : 
scious effort in its own behalf. 

Sometimes these unhappy beings are convinced and 
persuaded to retrace their steps and thus rise out of 
their wretchedness. But more often they will neither 
respond nor listen to those who would help them. Then 
they gradually sink low and lower while becoming more 
and more wretched until at last complete disintegra- 
tion or re-absorbment into the lowest, darkest shade of 
the red cosmic current obliterates them forever from 
the Universe as individual souls. And this is "second 
death." A most horrible picture to contemplate, but 
not worse than to burn forever and forever in a lake ot 
fire and brimstone prepared by the devil and his angels 
for erring mankind. 



LECTURE TEN. 



AFTER DEATH. 

When the indestructibility of the soul began to be 
accepted as a fact by the thoughtful people of the 
world, immediately thereafter there arose a most im- 
portant question: "What becomes of the soul after 
death and after the human body or the material means 
of physical expression has been destroyed or disin- 
tegrated?" 

To meet and to answer this question, from time to 
time, many theories have been offered to the world 
as truths by certain individuals who claimed to be holy 
men, and who were supposed to be inspired by God to 
teach Divine Law to others. But because a great 
number of their theories were both unreasonable and 
cruel, and differed so greatly in their characters from 
what man daily saw and knew of God and of His laws, 
after a time incredulity began to take the place of 
credulity concerning both the teachers and their teach- 
ings. And, notwithstanding the fact that anathemas 
loud and deep have been sent forth from the so-called 
divine expounders of truth against all persons who 

249 



250 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

dared to think or to live contrary to the rules laid down 
by them, men and women have gone steadily on in their 
various ways and many have become independent 
thinkers. 

In the beginning of the Christian era the followers 
of Christ began teaching and healing humanity, accord- 
ing to the manner in which the Nazarene had taught 
and healed before them. Later they decided, after many 
sad experiences, that it was necessary to teach some- 
thing besides the doctrine of love to the cruel, animal 
men of their day. Instead, therefore, of following in 
the footsteps of the Nazarene and continuing to teach, 
as He had done, that God is a loving Father and is 
ready to receive and to help all His children, they 
digressed from the path of true Christianity and began 
to use hell and eternal damnation as a club to beat 
men into submission, and to force them to worship after 
the manner that they dictated or described. And after 
the same manner that some parents believe it to be 
necessary to frighten their children into submission and 
obedience by promising to bring a "boogie man" to 
get them, the ancient Church fathers succeeded in 
frightening men into obedience and submission by the 
threats of the devil and a future punishment. And when 
they found that men could be influenced through their 
fears much sooner than through their loves, they inten- 
sified their fearful teachings by painting such pictures 
of a future state of existence, for those who did not 



After Death. 251 

accept the tenets of the Church, as would have made 
the heart of the loving Nazarene sad to see. 

Believing, as many of the Church fathers did, that 
the Christian Church was the only door to salvation, 
and that every soul who did not enter it was doomed 
to destruction, they spared no pains, nor did they hesi- 
tate to give any of their wildest flights of fancy for 
inspired truths, which they believed would serve to 
bring souls into that institution. And, since a story 
never loses details by being continuously repeated, as 
the years rolled by, the stories of hell, as given by the 
early fathers, lost nothing by their constant repetition. 
When those ancient men saw how well their schemes 
had worked toward increasing the membership and con- 
sequent support of their Church, they redoubled their 
efforts and their falsehoods. After a time, forgetting 
or ignoring the fact that the Nazarene had said: "Suffer 
little children, and forbid them not, to come unto Me; 
for of such is the kingdom of heaven," they invented 
new hell horrors by including unbaptized and stillborn 
infants with sinning adults on their lists of candidates 
for that dreadful place. 

But, like all other destructive things, by reason of 
their own natures these deceptions finally returned 
upon and destroyed themselves. The unreasonableness 
and the injustice of such a thing as infant damnation 
finally arose like a grinning skull and horrible cross 
bones between the faces of bereaved parents and their 



252 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

God, until it came to pass that either God or creed 
must go out of their hearts. To some persons those 
teachings brought materialism. Many men and women 
became infidels and repudiated God altogether. Others 
went insane over their grief and passed out of life men- 
tally unbalanced. Then there were a few who were 
brave and strong enough to repudiate the belief in hell 
and banded themselves together into a society called 
Universalists, and declared that hell was upon earth, and 
that man received his punishment as he went through 
life and not hereafter. 

Anciently all teachers wore cowls and skirts, and 
while thus attired demanded and received a reverence 
from the people which greatly aided them in controlling 
their worshipers. This was: because the teachers so 
nearly resembled the pictures of the heavenly saints 
whom tr^ey professed to represent upon earth. But, 
gradually, as the more modern clergyman commenced 
to adopt a style of dress less saintly and more fashion- 
able, much of the halo of holiness was removed from 
around their personalities. It became quite difficult for 
the mass of men who had so blindly worshiped signs 
and symbols, as interpreted by teachers clad in gowns 
and girdles, to accept as Divine Truth anything given to 
them by men dressed in trousers and waistcoats. And, 
notwithstanding the terrible threats of eternal damna- 
tion so generously bestowed upon them, many evolving 



After Death. 253 

souls revolted from the tyranny of the ancient Church 
and adopted newer and easier forms of worship. 

This religious reaction was in perfect accord with 
Divine Law, which always brings reaction to follow 
action along any line of thinking or doing. It was 
natural that there should be a relaxation from the an- 
cient forms of worship, even to the extent of a disbelief 
in a future punishment, or even regarding a future state 
of existence. It could not be otherwise after the 
people's long submission to the ironclad creeds and 
dogmas of a Church which depended upon hell and 
damnation instead of Divine Love for its corner-stone. 

When mankind had reached a point where it really 
wanted to know the truth, there occasionally appeared 
an individual with intellectual strength and mental poise 
sufficient to enable him to rise and denounce all man- 
made creeds, and to declare that there is no anthropo- 
morphic God, but that this is a universe of law, in which 
all men have the right to a freedom of thought and 
a freedom of speech. When first these intellectual 
giants appeared before the people and repudiated the 
ancient teachings of the Church, the fear enslaved souls 
expected that God in His vengeance would pour out 
His wrath upon those men and that they would speedily 
meet with some terrible physical or mental affliction. 
But when it was seen that those heroes of the times 
were still permitted to live and to speak what they 
believed to be true, many, who had become surfeited 



254 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

with the old orthodox teachings and who really desired 
freedom of thought and action, accepted their words 
as expressed truth. 

On January 29th, 1737, Thomas Paine was born. And 
during his life, which lasted about seventy-two years, 
he did more towards freeing the American people from 
their mental bondage than any other man had done 
previously to him. Such a storm as he raised with his 
"Common Sense" and his "Rights of Man" — for which 
latter book he was outlawed from England — was never 
equalled until Robert Ingersoll stepped upon the lecture 
platform, and, striking his intellectual ax into the roots 
of that deadly nightshade of superstition, called "eternal 
hell fire," finished the work that Thomas Paine com- 
menced almost a century before him. 

Since 1876- 1886, when Robert Ingersoll did his great 
work for the English speaking people of the world — 
who were privileged to hear his voice or read, his lect- 
ures — a belief in hell and eternal damnation has 
steadily waned. Even the ministers of the gospel who 
at that time so frantically and fiercely denounced him 
as an agent of the devil and declared that he was rob- 
bing the Church of its most valuable and sacred tenet, 
have been compelled to modify their doctrines. And 
now, at the beginning of the Twentieth Century, fore- 
ordination, infant damnation and hell fire are seldom 
alluded to either in the pulpits of the civilized world 
nor in polite society. For the churches have learned 






After Death. 255 

that they must keep step with the procession or fall 
out of the evolutionary race altogether. 

Since dire future punishment for terrible crimes is no 
longer predicted, the people have now become lulled 
into a false sense of security. They have swung to the 
other extreme and believe they have nothing to fear 
as a punishment, except public opinion, which is some- 
times very gently expressed concerning society's fa- 
vorites. And because of this belief, a large portion of 
the human family has entered again into indulgences 
and transgressions against Divine Law which it dared 
not enter while bound by the fear of hell. The indi- 
viduals who believed themselves to be God fearing were 
mistaken; they were only hell fearing, and now that 
hell has been wiped off the religious map they are 
neither the one nor the other. 

The race has reached its majority, and is like the boy 
who has suddenly become a man. He can vote, and 
therefore is no longer obliged to submit to the auto- 
cratic rule of his parents. He is now too large to be 
chastised, and therefore threats have ceased to frighten 
him into submission; and yet he is not wise or good 
enough to live up to the best that he knows. Because 
of the strictness of his past training and the watchfulness 
of his parents, he was not permitted to indulge in the 
excesses which he secretly desired to indulge in. But 
now that all restrictions have been removed, he is satia- 
ting himself because he believes there will be no con- 



256 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

sequences. He is mistaken. There are and will be 
consequences, both here and hereafter, and although he 
may not meet with the devil of ancient theology and 
may not be plunged forever and forever into the lake 
which burns with unquenchable fire, still he is at a 
critical point in his evolution and cannot escape the 
results of his transgressions. It all depends upon how 
high he climbs or how low he sinks upon this material 
plane where his future state of existence will be. For 
in the Father's house there are many mansions, and a 
place is prepared for him which is best suited to his 
development. And there will be nothing but his own 
efforts which will change his condition. In that other 
state of existence the wealth or social position which 
he enjoyed here will have no power to help him. He 
will be recognized for just what he is, and for nothing 
else. 

Below this material plane and below the first sub- 
jective plane are the lowest conditions into which the 
souls of this earth can enter. By the Eastern students 
of Occultism it is called Avitchi, and in its lowest depths 
is indescribable in its horrors. It is the home for lost 
souls or for those who have deliberately chosen to do 
evil instead of good. When, by reason of its thoughts 
and acts, a soul's vibrations have become more gross 
than are those of the earth, and, because of this con- 
dition, it is unable to longer resist the gravic attraction 
of the earth, through the operation of the same law 



After Death. 257 

that draws a stone to the bottom of the sea or to a 
point where it meets with obstructions as dense as itself, 
that unfortunate, misguided soul is drawn by gravic 
force lower and lower into obscuration and darkness. 
Then it becomes disintegrated through vampirization 
by the red cosmic current in which it dwells. For this 
cosmic current not only surrounds and penetrates the 
surface of the earth, but it also permeates it to its 
center. Its darkest, deadliest shades are as destructive 
and as disintegrating to a dying soul as corrosive acid 
is destructive to a material body. It eats, consumes or 
absorbs the soul atom by atom until it is entirely disin- 
tegrated. Let it be understood that souls are not lost 
or destroyed through the vindictiveness of an angry 
God, but through and by their own willful sinning, and 
in no other way. 

Notwithstanding all the book lore that has been given 
to man by the^ scientific investigators of material phe- 
nomena, he knows very little of what the earth contains 
beneath its surface. And the human race is almost as 
ignorant concerning the world it dwells in and of the 
subjective planes surrounding it as the blind mole in 
the meadow is unconscious of man's political and social 
relationships. If the human family were to be entirely 
limited to the few sodden crumbs of knowledge which 
are occasionally thrown to it by so-called scientific men, 
who believe in the existence of nothing that cannot be 
measured or weighed by their material rules or scales, 



258 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

then the school of evolution would necessarily be closed 
during the greater part of the time, and man would be 
unable to make much progress in his development. 

But because there have been and are advanced souls 
upon earth 1 who wished to know the truth whether it 
squared with their preconceived notions or not, it is 
possible for less advanced souls to profit by the results 
of their investigations and experiences, and a few pages 
here will be quoted from the diary of the same student 
of Occultism who so kindly contributed from his basket 
and store, for lectures Six and Nine of this Course. 

"I had often asked my master to show me the abode 
for lost souls, and each time he had sadly refused, say- 
ing, 'You could not bear it now.' But to-day, after 
having been an accepted student for almost seven years, 
he offered to take me into Avitchi as far as it was pos- 
sible for an incarnated soul to go. And when I saw 
the horrors of that awful place, I ceased to wonder why 
he had heretofore refused my request. When liberated 
from my body and ready to descend into the bowels of 
the earth, I was surprised to see how easily soul could 
penetrate dense matter. In a vague way I had expected 
that my Master would take me to some extinct volcano 
and use it as a passageway to the lower realms; but this 
was not the case. Before we had descended to any 
considerable depth he took me by the hand and said, 



iThe History and Power of Mind, pp. 19, 20, 23, 26, 27, 64, 



After Death. 259 

'Whatever happens, do not let go of me, since an in- 
experienced soul, if left by itself, is sometimes caught 
between two entities — denizens of the lower plane — 
and is detained and demagnetized by vampirization 
until the magnetic cord between the physical body and 
their victim becomes absorbed, and dissolution to the 
physical body necessarily ensues,' and, thus warned, I 
kept close to my Master, and it was very well for me 
that I did. 

"After descending for several hundred feet into the 
earth we first came to a number of caverns which 
opened into each other as one cave often leads to an- 
other. There was a subterranean stream of water that 
poured forth from a great hole in the rocky wall and 
flowed through the place from end to end and disap- 
peared with a roar over the edge of a yawning abyss 
in the last cavern. The walls of this place were glisten- 
ing with_ minerals, and there were veins of ore among 
those rocks that, to have seen, would have driven a 
miner insane with greed. At the bottom of the shallow 
stream there were great quantities of gold that, by the 
constant washing of the swiftly running water, had 
been cleansed from earthy deposits until it glittered 
and shone most tantalizingly. 

"At first I was so intently interested in those rocky 
caverns and our surroundings that I had not noticed 
that for a distance around us of ten feet or more 
there shone a strange blue light, which made the walls 



260 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

and floors glisten with a weird brilliancy. But when 
the thought occurred to me that the light from neither 
sun nor moon could penetrate to this depth without an 
opening in the earth, I began to wonder where the 
light came from, and, turning to my Master for an 
answer, I saw that it emanated from him. 1 In this 
darkness he had become a luminous body and was light- 
ing the place with his brilliancy. In reply to my mental 
query he smilingly replied: 'Souls, like other things, 
always shine by contrast with unpleasant surroundings, 
and we must have light upon the subject that we are 
studying.' And then I knew that his modesty forbade 
him from saying that he possessed the power to create 
light, according to his will, in any place or at any time. 
Forgetting everything except his wondrous power, I 
stood gazing admiringly at him until, wishing to divert 
my attention from himself, he said: 'Look yonder,' and 
looking in the direction he indicated, I saw a group of 
entities who were watching us. 

"Standing as they did among the shadows, that ap- 
peared the denser by contrast with the light that en- 
circled us, they looked more like apes than like men. 
With distorted features, grinning mouths and bulging 
eyeballs, they made a wretched picture to look upon, 
and I shuddered as I gazed. They all appeared to be 
startled, half blinded and disturbed by the light that 



iMata the Magician, pp. 12, 16, 20, 21. 



After Death, 261 

had come so suddenly into their abode, and they hud- 
dled together, as if afraid we would attack them. Taking 
my hand, my Master led me forward until we were near 
enough to let the light shine full upon the group, and 
thus I had the opportunity to see each one very plainly. 
Had their figures been straight and erect, I should 
judge that they had been men who measured six feet 
while in physical life; but now they were bowed and 
bent and had huge humps between their shoulders. 
Their legs were crooked and withered, their arms were 
covered with knots or bunches, and them- hands and 
fingers looked like claws, while their feet resembled the 
feet of bears. 

" 'Do you know who these individuals were in life?' 
I asked my Master, and he replied: They were mem- 
bers of the Spanish Inquisition and have no subjective 
minds, since those left them long before they ,excar- 
nated. These are now nothing but animal or objective 
minds, which were too strong for their subjective minds 
to control and have been deserted to their fate 1 . When 
they first passed from physical life they lingered for a 
time upon the first subjective plane of being, casting 
their diabolical influence upon such men's minds as they 
could control, until, weakened by their unwise expendi- 
ture of magnetic force, and thus losing their power, 
they were swept from the first plane by the law of 



l The History and Power of Mind, pp. 170, 171, 176, 177. 



262 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

evolution or adjustment, which soon places every in- 
dividuality where it belongs 1 . By reason of their den- 
sity, these entities settled here, and will remain in this 
place or condition until there shall be another cyclic 
change or movement of the law. Then^ they will de- 
scend still lower, since, being nothing but objective 
minds, there is no hope of their ever being raised out 
of this condition.' 

" 'Will you tell me something about the operation 
of the cyclic law you have just referred to?' I asked. 

" 'During the latter part of the ebb tide of each 
century, as men now reckon time, there comes a re- 
adjustment upon all the subjective planes of being sur- 
sounding and interpenetrating the earth. Souls who 
are progressive are permitted to reincarnate and souls 
who will not progress, but who have Karma to expiate, 
are compelled to reincarnate or to move downward. If 
for lack of strength or for Karmic reasons a soul is un- 
able to reincarnate and is on the downward instead of 
the upward course, then it isi swept off the plane where 
it has been functioning, and, by gravic attraction, settles 
into a lower condition or state of consciousness; and 
thus it goes gradually downward until final disintegra- 
tion or reabsorbment into the lowest shade of the red 
cosmic current becomes its fate. Shall we pass on 
and examine the next lower condition?' he asked, and 
again we started forth on our tour of investigation. 



x The History and Power of Mind, pp. 109-111. 



After Death. 263 

"It is a wonderful earth on which we live, and until 
I had the opportunity to study it by the light of soul, I 
had no idea of its almost limitless resources. There are 
vast beds of coal and great wealth of minerals, and 
there are rivers and lakes of petroleum which have 
never yet been touched by the probing iron tubes that 
men are so constantly sending after it. There are un- 
derground rivers and lakes of water and caverns so 
great that our largest buildings would seem like chil- 
dren's playhouses if they were to be put into them. 
As we swiftly passed from wonder to wonder, we saw 
many unfortunate beings who had neglected their op- 
portunities for progress and were now taking the con- 
sequences. Some looked frightened, others sad and 
despairing, but many were rebellious and bitter. They 
were of many shades of darkness and had nothing now 
to do but to meditate upon their mistakes or to dispute 
or quarrel among themselves. As we passed or paused 
to look at them they usually returned our gaze; some- 
times stupidly or wonderingly, but more often appre- 
hensively, since the fear of greater calamities seemed to 
prevail with each. They never spoke to us unless we 
addressed them first, and this we did not care to do 
except in one instance, when we found a creature who 
had been a woman during its last incarnation and still 
retained something of what I imagined was her former 
appearance. She had been a Voodoo sorceress, my 
Master said, and was really a subjective and objective 



264 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

mind gone wrong together. This soul had deliberately 
chosen to do evil instead of good, and was suffering 
the consequences of its choice. It was surrounded by 
a number of other entities who had been her victims 
in times past, and with whom she had been instrumental 
in helping downward instead of upward. When we 
came into the presence of this creature it rushed for- 
ward with outstretched arms as if it were about to 
seize us. But, stretching out his hand and giving it a 
look which seemed to have the power to stop a whirl- 
wind, my Master spoke the one word, 'Stop!' and im- 
mediately it fell upon its knees as quickly as if it had 
been knocked down with a club. Then with his hand 
still raised, and, without taking his eyes from the creat- 
ure's face, he said: Tf you have anything to say you 
must say it where you are. You cannot come any 
nearer.' 

"'Help! help! help!' it shouted in a tragic tone of 
voice, T want to get out of here!' and it commenced 
wringing its hands and swaying its body backward and 
forward while its eyes gleamed wickedly. 

" 'What would you do if you were to be helped out 
of your condition?' Master asked. 

" T would kill the man who murdered and sent me 
here,' it replied viciously. T would search the world 
over, and when I found him I would strangle him with 
my hands as he strangled me; and then I would drag 
him down to my own condition! Will you help me to 



After Death. 265 

get revenge?' it suddenly inquired, looking at Master 
with its reddened eyes that blinked and squinted under 
the radiant light that surrounded us. 

" 'Not while your only purpose for release is revenge/ 
he replied, and, as we turned away, it sent after us such 
curses as made me shudder at their wickedness. 

"After spending considerable time in looking about, 
my Master said: 'Now that you have seen so many 
phases of this wretchedness I shall show you the place 
which first gave rise to the Bible legend of hell or of the 
lake which is supposed to burn forever and forever with 
unquenchable fire. For that, as,' well as nearly all those 
old legends, was founded upon fragments of truth,' and, 
after passing under many miles of sea and then down 
deep into what seemed to be almost to the center of the 
earth, we came into the greatest of all the caverns I had 
seen. It was so immense that I was impressed with the 
thought that we had really entered another world until 
my Master said: 'This is hell. Into greater depths than 
this we cannot go; but I am told that there is a place 
even worse than this where all forms become slowly 
absorbed except their heads, which remain conscious 
and which continue to float about upon a dark, blood 
red sea of cosmic consciousness like corks upon the 
surface of a stream. And finally after many centuries, 
the heads, too, become absorbed and are drawn back 
to help swell that great torrent of red cosmic force 
which is constantly sweeping round and through the 



266 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

earth; and which is ever ready to supply animal man 
with material for his passions and his lower emotions.' 1 
'This. great cavern which we had entered seemed to 
be a center of attraction toward which much of the vital 
fluids and gases of the earth were drawn. There were 
monstrous holes in the walls and roof that looked as if 
they had at some time been vents and had served as 
chimneys to the place. And everywhere were heaps of 
rocks that looked as if they had some time been heated 
and tossed about like great balls of putty by some 
tremendous force, and had then been left to harden 
into all their present grotesque shapes. There were 
also deep pools of inky water and streams which 
gushed or trickled according to their size or volume 
from among the rocks and crevices. Here and there 
we saw hiding and dodging about among the shadows 
the ugly misshapen forms of some of the denizens of 
that place. Going further into the cavern we found 
that, after the distance of a mile or two, the floors began 
a gradual descent, and the further we went the sharper 
became the decline until we seemed to be going down- 
ward at an angle of about forty-five degrees. And still 
on every hand, before and behind us, were heaps and 
piles of rocks which we passed either over, through or 
between upon our journey. After a time from out the 
shadows and the darkness there came a glimmer of light 



The History and Power of Mind, pp. 135, 136, 140, 142, 143, 224, 230. 



After Death. 267 

in the distance, and I paused and asked my Master what 
was its cause and from whence it came. He replied: 

" That light is from the fiery lake of which you have 
been told. It is a burning pool. We are now directly 
beneath the Island of Java, which is but a volcanic for- 
mation upon the surface of the earth, and which con- 
tains numerous craters which serve as vents or chim- 
neys for this lake of fire,' and on approaching nearer I 
looked upon a scene that neither time nor eternity will 
ever be able to obliterate from my memory. 

"Below us at perhaps a distance of one thousand feet 
was what seemed to be a huge caldron of liquid rock. 
It was seething and bubbling and spurting high toward 
the roof of the cavern as if it were being forced upward 
by numerous fountains. And there was also a constant 
and a terrific rumbling and roaring sound, and a trem- 
bling of the rocks around us as if they were being 
shaken from their resting places and were about to go 
plunging down the decline to be melted again into lava 
in that fiery furnace. It was impossible for me to esti- 
mate the area covered by that boiling mass, since it was 
in such a constant and tumultuous commotion that I 
could see but a small portion of it. But as I watched 
it roll and heard it thunder, and saw it swirl and dash 
about in its seeming conscious efforts to consume every- 
thing within its reach, and, as I became conscious of 
the sickening stench that arose from its combined gase- 
ous and sulphurous fumes, I understood why the 



268 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

theologians' hell had been so graphically described. 
Turning to my Master I asked: 'Am I to understand 
that this place was expressly prepared for lost souls?' 
and he replied: 

" 'No. This condition is but the result of a meeting 
at this' point within the earth of such of her fluids and 
gases as are combustible by coming into contact. The 
combination of sulphur, gases and oils combined with 
the different chemicals which are also here in great 
quantities has produced combustion, and the continu- 
ous flow of oil and of gas into this burning center sup- 
plies the fuel that keeps it burning. This is the largest 
of the several burning lakes that now exist within the 
earth and which supply the different volcanoes with 
their fires.' 

"At that moment I saw a group of entities approach- 
ing. Their bodies were coal black and glittered in the 
firelight as though they were covered with scales. All 
were deformed. Some had huge heads and broad shoul- 
ders, while] their legs and arms seemed like slender 
sticks. Others had large bodies and small heads and 
eyes that looked like living coals of fire. All had mon- 
strous mouths and huge ears, and as they approached 
I was conscious of a great fear. For of all the hideous 
creatures I had ever seen in all our wanderings, these 
were the worst. Drawing nearer to my Master, I said: 
'Keep them away, for I am afraid,' and he replied: 'Be 
calm. For if you cannot command yourself then you 



After Death. 269 

cannot command them,' then raising his hand as he 
had done before to the voodoo sorceress he said: 'Stop!' 
You can come no nearer,' and immediately the creatures 
paused, hesitated, and then turned and went another 
way. At that moment I felt a change coming over me. 
I had seemed to lose my poise completely, and I said: 
'Let us go. I cannot bear any more of this,' and Master 
quickly took me out of that awful place. 

"When next I had an opportunity to talk with Master 
I asked him why ancient teachers had taught that the 
only place of future punishment was that lake of fire 
when there were so many other unhappy conditions. 
And he replied: 'Ancient teachers knew the truth, since 
many were clairvoyant, and were conscious of all the 
states and grades of happiness or degradation into 
which souls can come. But because that is the lowest 
extreme of an abnormal condition of which they were 
conscious they used it to frighten, men into good be- 
haviour. It was not prepared for lost souls, but souls 
sank into it by reason of their sinning, by the same law 
which souls may rise to great spiritual heights by reason 
of their goodness and wisdom.' 

"Since I have been seeing faces and forms and have 
been hearing voices, I have wished to go out upon the 
first subjective plane and see the souls as they appear in 
their different states of consciousness. But it was not 
until to-day that Master consented to show me about, 



270 From. Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

always having refused before this with the remark that 
I was not prepared to meet either the dwellers upon the 
threshold or the souls of higher realms because of my 
emotional nature, which I did not yet properly control. 
But to-day, after severely testing me, he consented to 
make thef attempt, but promised to cut our investiga- 
tions short if I should again lose my poise as I did in 
Avitchi. 

"At first it seemed incredible to believe that there 
could be such throngs and crowds of beings upon the 
first subjective plane while incarnated souls were mov- 
ing about among them and utterly unconscious of their 
presence or existence. 1 When first I was liberated from 
my body and took my Master's hand, it seemed as if it 
must be fete day and that every one was out upon a 
dress parade. For there were thousands who jostled 
and pushed each other about, played pranks or disputed 
and quarreled as men do at a county fair or when a cir- 
cus has come to a country town. And there were the 
souls of animals running about and following both in- 
carnated and excarnated beings and each other and 
seemed to be as tangible as were those whom they were 
following. There were huge dogs and small dogs, kit- 
tens, cats and rats. And there were monkeys that had 
been some one's pets, and who were as active in that 
parade as any other creature. 



l The History and Power of Mind, pp. 174-175. 



After Death. 271 

"In the country before we reached the city I saw the 
souls of cows and of horses and of sheep mingling with 
the incarnated herds or flocks of their kind, and it 
seemed that the first subjective plane was as greatly 
crowded with the souls of animals as with human souls. 1 
In passing through the fields I observed that the female 
animals were the greatest centers of attraction for the 
disembodied animal souls of their kind; and when I 
asked to know the caused of this my Master said it was 
because of the possibility of rebirth or reincarnation for 
the animals who were being drawn again into physical 
life. They were attracted to the female animals more 
than to the males because it was through them, as 
mothers, that they would again be able to gain physical 
expression. And what was true with the animals was 
also true with human beings. Some women, and espe- 
cially those who were at an age and in a condition 
where motherhood was possible, were surrounded by 
disembodied souls who were ready for rebirth. 

"Something that impressed me very forcefully was 
the fact that although we were walking upon the earth 
the same as if we were in our physical bodies, still the 
atmosphere seemed to have entirely changed in some 
places/ We were not conscious of the heat, although it 
had been exceedingly warm before leaving my physi- 
cal body. The sun then was shining fiercely and there 



L The History and Power of Mind, p. 174. 



272 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

was not a cloud to be seen in the sky. But now, in this 
new condition, the sun was obscured in the city which 
my Master wished me to see subjectively, and there 
were shadows so dense in some portions of it that it 
seemed as if twilight had fallen. And this was especially 
true in the lower quarters of the city, where gambling 
and prostitution prevailed. And when I asked why this 
darkened condition existed my Master replied. 'This is 
a mental atmosphere that is vibrating at a rate which 
you are conscious of as shadows. When incarnated 
men and women constantly transgress against truth, 
purity and honesty they create mental cesspools or vor- 
tices of gross vibrations which draw into them, by their 
own attractive power, such disembodied entities or souls 
as are vibrating in mental accord with those who created 
such vortices. 1 It is not alone true that the doers of evil 
prefer darkness rather than light, but they also create 
darkness by the density of their thought vibrations. 
They establish clouds between themselves and the sun 
in the same manner that they establish barriers be- 
tween themselves and the purer souls who dwell on the 
planes above them. Look there, for instance,' and he 
pointed to a large fine building which appeared to be an 
aristocratic family residence. 

"Taking me by the hand, we entered the house with- 
out opening the front door, which was firmly bolted 



l The History and Power of Mind, p. 176. 



After Death. 273 

inside, and the bolts held in their places by strong steel 
chains. In the parlor we saw women who were painted 
like dolls and who were only half dressed, or were in 
costumes which, I believe, are sometimes called decol- 
lete, and which made but poor pretences of concealing 
their voluptuous forms. They were lolling about on 
couches and easy chairs, while small tables, on which 
were bottles of liquor and finely cut wine glasses, stood 
just within reach of each. Behind, before and on either 
side of every woman in that room stood the disembodied 
souls of persons of both sexes who had been as low or 
worse than they in development. For there were 
women inj that place who had been pure and true only 
a few years before, but who had strayed from the path 
of virtue, had yielded to a tempter in human form and 
had finally reached this condition. Now they were 
never free from the power that intoxicants have upon 
the physical brain, and because of this were much more 
easily influenced by the disembodied entities who. were 
mentally urging them to drink and to sin. With a feel- 
ing of indignation at the condition into which these 
women had been enticed I turned to Master and said: 

" 'Why cannot these women be made to see and 
know of the danger they are in? And why are they per- 
mitted to go blindly on to such a terrible fate as is 
awaiting them?' 

"He calmly replied: 'If you do not control your emo- 
tion of sympathy better than this, I shall take you back 



274 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

to your body and you will not be permitted to extend 
your investigations for some time. These women are 
passing through this phase of experience because at 
present they have neither the desire nor the will to es- 
cape it. If you will observe you will see that the ob- 
jective mind of each is in absolute control of her actions. 
If I were to suddenly lift the veil and show them the 
entities who stand at their elbows, and if they were to 
be made conscious of the dangers they are approaching, 
they would no nothing more than to scream and faint; 
and when they would return to consciousness upon the 
material plane, they would overlook the lesson of truth 
which I had attempted to teach them and would believe 
they had been the victims of a nightmare or of. some 
kind of a joke. Then they would only drink the deeper 
to drown the fearful recollection. No. It is impossible 
to help a soul until it is ready and desires to be helped 
and then it will co-operate with its helper, and even 
then one must be wise enough not to do too much at 
one time, since none can bear more truth than can be 
immediately digested and applied to present conditions.' 
"Passing on to another apartment on that same floor 
we found the man and woman who owned the house. 
They were sitting at a table and were playing cards with 
two other persons. It was not difficult to see that 
these persons were much further along upon the down- 
ward road than were any of the women in the parlor. 
These, too, were drinking intoxicants and were using 



After Death. 275 

the worse language I had ever heard expressed. They 
were gambling and also plotting against the fortunes 
and the lives of several persons of whom I had never 
heard; and, crowding around them so closely that they 
could scarcely be distinguished apart from each other, 
were disembodied souls who were almost as dark and as 
devilish looking as were some of those whom we had 
seen in Avitchi. These entities mentally suggested 
plans most diabolical to these human plotters and then 
laughed heartily when their suggestions were accepted. 

''Rising to the floor above we entered a large, luxuri- 
ously furnished room where there was a young girl. 
She was very handsome but most unhappy. There was 
liquor and glasses to drink from standing upon a table 
in the room, but she had not touched it. When we en- 
tered she was pacing the floor and was wringing her 
hands in an agony of grief; and immediately my sym- 
pathies began to go out to her. But Master touched 
my hand and said: 'Remember your poise. If you lose 
it you cannot be of service to her nor to any one else 
whom you will meet. Now listen.' 

' 'Oh, my God, my God, have you forsaken me?' she 
moaned. 'Why did I yield to that awful temptation! I 
must get away from this place and go back to my 
father. I will get out. I will, I will!' and she rushed 
toward the door just as a dissolute looking man stepped 
into the room. At sight of him the girl stopped, hesi- 
tated and finally sank into a chair. It was evident 



276 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

that he was the direct cause of her misery. Coming 
forward he smilingly made a flattering remark, to which 
she did not reply, but continued to look steadily and 
sullenly straight before her. At this moment Master 
stepped close to her side, and, pushing away the evil 
entities who stood around her and were mentally urging 
her into a passion, he whispered: 'You are repentant, 
not rebellious; and you desire to be good. You can 
and you shall escape from this place before you are 
compelled to sin again,' and these words he repeated 
again and again to her. 

"Sensitive to thought as the girl was, she seemed to 
listen to Master's suggestions, and immediately gained 
control of her anger. And when the man who had just 
entered, laid his hand upon her shoulder caressingly, 
she rose and confronted him; and while the tears shone 
in her eyes, she said: 'You say you love me, and it 
was because of your protestations of love that I dis- 
obeyed my good old father and fled with you. You 
promised to marry me, but you did not do it. Will you 
release and give me the money to return to my father?' 

"At first the man looked surprised and then provoked 
and finally replied: 'Still harping on that old subject 
which I thought you had forgotten. Why can't {you be 
satisfied as you are? Haven't you everything a girl 
could possibly want?' 

" 'No. I want my freedom from this den of iniquity. 
I want to breathe the pure air and see the sunshine 



After Death. 277 

again. I am sorry for my wilfulness and for my dis- 
obedience and wish to return home,' she replied sadly. 
" 'But you are disgraced. Who will recognize you, in 
the town where you were born and shone with such 
brilliancy for so short a time?' he sneered. 

" 'My father will receive me and God will forgive me 
and I don't care for the others. I want to be good and 
be happy again before I die,' she sobbed. 

"Here Master stepped close to the man and whis- 
pered: 'Pity and release her; she is too good to live this 
life,' and this he repeated several times until the man 
received the thought and said: 
" 'When would you like to go?' 

" 'Now! this instant,' she replied, and started toward 
the closet for her wraps. 

" 'But how can you pack all your gowns and get 
away to-day? Better stay another night,' he said slowly. 
" 'I don't want to ever see those things again,' she 
replied passionately, 'for they would only remind me of 
my miserable mistakes which I wish to forget. Please 
let me go now.' 

"At that moment an evil entity came close to the 
man and was about to suggest something to him when 
Master stepped between the two and said: 'As you will 
some time hope for mercy, have mercy now for this girl,' 
and he suggested the thought with such force that the 
man turned pale and began trembling. After a moment 
he said: 'And so you shall go home, and have all the 



278 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

money that you will need to take you there. If your 
father refuses to have you back, let me know and I will 
send you enough more to keep you honest until you 
can turn yourself somehow,' and handing her a large 
package of bank notes he said: 'Come, I will see you 
to the station/ and they walked together out of the 
house. Then Master said: 'She is the only person in 
this place who is ready to be helped, and now let us go.' 
"The next place we visited was an opium den. Down 
a narrow street into a Chinese shop where there were 
Oriental wares for sale we went, and finally entered a 
large room in the basement of the building where the 
deadly drug was smoked. Here were men and women 
lying round the room upon luxurious couches that 
were piled high with silken pillows. These persons 
were in all states and conditions of stupefaction, and like 
the place that we had just left this, too, was crowded 
with disembodied entities in their different states of un- 
development. All these entities had been opium smok- 
ers during their past incarnations but now, because of 
not being possessed of physical bodies, could enjoy 
their favorite indulgence only by proxy — as the disem- 
bodied soul of a drunkard enjoys the fumes of intoxi- 
cants through vampirizing an embodied drunkard. 
These entities were nearly all nothing but objective, 
animal minds who had been deserted by their subjec- 
tive minds, but were still strong enough to influence 
and to suggest the thought to their victims to smoke 



After Death. 279 

opium. When their victims had become completely 
stupefied and unconscious those vampires settled down 
upon them like huge black bats and, lying out at full 
length upon the prostrate physical forms, drew from 
them their magnetic forces until, after regaining con- 
sciousness, they could scarcely stand or walk. In this 
manner the vampires were able to enjoy the burning 
fumes of the opium and at the same time gain the 
magnetic strength they desired and needed in order to 
continue with their diabolical work. 

"In this place there seemed to be no one who could 
be helped, since those of them who had been deserted 
by their higher or subjective minds were simply animal 
or objective minds incarnated in weakened and diseased 
physical bodies and were beyond help. And those who 
still were blest with subjective minds were not con- 
trolled by them, but were entirely dominated by their 
animal, natures. 

"As we passed through the city we paused for a few 
moments in many homes of the, rich and also the poor, 
and saw much suffering but some happiness in both. 
In every class there were individuals who were posi- 
tively good and were living up to their highest ideals. 
The homes of these were filled with bright and uplift- 
ing vibrations and around such incarnated souls were 
disembodied entities who were suggesting beautiful 
thoughts to assist them in their work for themselves 



280 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

and for others. 1 In other homes, often where there was 
much wealth and social honor, there was nothing but 
degeneracy and drunkenness. And this condition ap- 
plied equally as well to each of the two extremes of so- 
ciety. Persons who had nothing to do, and those who 
would do nothing, were surrounded by; disembodied 
entities of a like or of a worse nature than themselves, 
who suggested demoralizing thoughts which were ac- 
cepted and acted upon. And nearly all these disem- 
bodied entities were earth-bound and could not pass to 
higher planes than the first subjective, because their 
love for material things was greater than for spiritual 
things. They would stay with the sensual because they 
loved sensuousness; and would eventually either rein- 
carnate or sink lower because of their grossness. 

"Among the middle classes, with persons who were 
neither rich nor poor, but who were kept busy at work 
earning a living we* found much greater mental de- 
velopment and more purity and truth. And I was 
strongly impressed with the thought that physical and 
mental activity are great protections against degeneracy 
and; all kinds of sin. This is because the objective 
minds gain the greatest strength and power when their 
physical bodies are idle. 

"After we had studied the first subjective plane, as it 
appeared in the largest city in our country, my Master 



L The History and Power of Mind, p. 186. 



After Death. 281 

said, 'I shall now show you something of the second 
subjective plane which surrounds the earth outside the 
first plane. This is the temporary abode for disem- 
bodied' souls who have struggled through and have 
overcome many of the temptations of earth; and have 
gained a point of development where they desire to 
progress instead of retrogress. For such, this is a 
resting place between earth lives where they may digest, 
as it were, their earth experiences and assimilate the 
good that is to be gotten from each. When a soul has 
reached the second subjective plane, it is not likely, al- 
though not impossible to fall into Avitchi. And if such 
a fate should befall it then it is due to the fact that it 
was more negatively than positively good, and fell 
through lack of strength to resist some great temptation 
upon earth. After such a soul has been permitted to 
suffer for a time the consequences of its mistakes, usual- 
ly a stronger soul goes down and attempts to encourage 
and to assist it out of its unhappy condition. And that 
angel of mercy is usually the other half of itself. But 
instances like these are rare although they do sometimes 
occur.' 

"It seemed as if a burden of lead had been lifted from 
my shoulders when we entered the atmosphere of that 
next higher plane; for we had indeed passed through 
purgatory and had at last entered a heaven of rest. 
There were no shadowy places, no darkness nor any 
gloom there. But there were trees and flowers and 



282 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

mossy banks and flowering shrubs. There were also 
beautiful places of abode and large magnificent build- 
ings like amphitheatres, erected for assembly halls. And 
everything seemed to be as tangible and as firm to me as 
the earth had seemed to be to my physical body. In a 
vague way I had expected to find this plane a vapory, 
cloudy place, and I think I had even expected to find 
the souls who dwelt thereon transparent and intangible. 
But to my surprise and delight all things here were real 
to me as soul. 

"A silvery light that reminded me of intensified moon- 
light shone everywhere. And there was a restfulness in 
the atmosphere of which I had never before dreamed. 
'Let us sit here upon the bank of this stream among 
these flowers,' I said, and my Master consented. After 
the horrible scenes that I had so recently looked upon 
on the lower plane of being, this place seemed to be 
the height of beauty and bliss, and I said: 'Surely no 
soul could ask for more happiness than this/ and Master 
replied: 

" 'This is indeed beautiful and restful, but there are 
planes beyond this where there are glories greater than 
these.' 

"At that moment we saw two souls approaching, and 
as I gazed at them in speechless wonderment, my Mas- 
ter said that they were re-united half souls who were 
enjoying this paradise together after an earthly incarna- 
tion of suffering. Radiant with happiness they were 



After Death. 283 

the most beautiful beings I had yet seen, and, as they 
came nearer, I seemed to experience some of the love 
they radiated. Pausing at a short distance from us they 
smiled and waved their hands as if to welcome us to 
their heaven and then passed on. After resting for a 
time Master said: 'Come, you have kept your poise so 
well through these experiences that I shall now show 
you the next higher plane of being,' and rising, we 
passed on through gardens and groves, through fields 
and over hills, for what seemed to me to be a great dis- 
tance. And during each moment of the time I felt so 
uplifted and so happy that I hardly recognized myself in 
this new environment. On our way we met many beau- 
tiful souls, each of whom kindly saluted us but did not 
offer to engage in conversation. Unlike mortals they 
seemed to be utterly devoid of curiosity, although they 
must have known that I did not belong in their realm. 
As we were passing a large assembly hall, we paused 
to listen to the music, and what I heard in that beautiful 
place made a lasting impression upon my mind. Lover 
of music as I had always been, I had studied with the 
best masters who were available upon earth, but when I 
listened to the music on that plane I felt that never 
again should I wish to hear my own or another human 
voice lifted in song. The melody was so entrancing 
that I stood spellbound until it ceased, and then Master 
said: 'Come, we have but little more time. You have 
been away from your body longer than I intended that 



284 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

you should be, and we must hasten back. But before 
we go, look yonder for a moment,' and raising my eyes, 
I saw the golden glory of the Gods. We were at the 
boundary between the second and the third planes of 
being, where an electric, silvery, blue light faded into 
a golden yellow light, softer and more beautiful than 
can be described; since words fail to express the depth 
of feeling that was awakened at the sight of the scene 
that lay before me. But in that sacred moment it be- 
came pictured upon my memory, never to be effaced. 

"There were Beings upon that plane who shone as 
brightly as the sun, and the colors that radiated from 
them were more beautiful than are those of a rainbow 
because they were living, throbbing colors. And there 
was a soft melody in the air that seemed to come from 
every direction. There was a fragrance, too, so subtile 
and so sweet that it seemed to permeate everything. 
This perfume, I understood, was the essence or the 
souls of the flowers with which the land was filled. 

" Ts this the theologians' heaven, the place which 
they describe as the city with pearly gates and golden 
streets?' Tasked my Master, and he replied: 

" 'No. That plane is still beyond this one. I would 
show you it but you could not bear the vibrations of 
that realm. That plane is what the Eastern students 
call Nirvana and is where perfected souls go to rest 
forever and forever as men reckon time. But individ- 
ual bliss in Nirvana does not last forever, since all in- 



After Death. 285 

dividual conditions must sometime change. The souls 
who enter Nirvana have reached Godhood, and, before 
leaving the third plane elect which they will do, take 
up the mission of assisting human souls onward in their 
development or pass into Nirvanic bliss and finally fade 
out as individual souls and be absorbed into the yellow 
cosmic current, becoming universal spiritual force. 1 
Many choose to become one with the spiritual force and 
forever lose their individuality rather than to return to 
earth and witness the sinning and suffering there. 
Others, after gaining this plane, and after resting here 
for a season prefer to return to earth and assist those 
who are coming on behind them. 

" Then those Beings return to the world's battle 
ground where they sometimes incarnate as Saviours or 
Avatars and lead such souls as will be led out of the 
bondage of ignorance and into a knowledge of truth, 
which is freedom. The ancient teachers, as you now 
understand, selected the two extreme conditions or 
states of consciousness for the heaven and hell for man- 
kind, and entirely omitted the intermediate planes of 
being where the majority of disembodied souls go, ex- 
cept the first subjective plane, which they call purgatory. 
By working upon man's fears and hopes they expected 
to prevent his sinning and thus raise him to higher 



The History and Power of Mind, pp. 132, 133, 138, 157, 158, 224, 237. 
From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation, pp. 138-139. 



286 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

realms. They did what they thought best at the dif- 
ferent periods of time in which they served humanity. 
But old forms and old systems of religion^ must give 
way to new, and man now needs greater truths and 
more freedom of thought than ever before during this 
period of evolution.' " 



INDEX 



Activity Throughout Deity — 32. 

Adeptship, Foundation Stones Necessary for — 178. 

Afflictions, Deity Not Responsible for Our — 74. 

After Death— 249 to 286. 

Age of Mental Power — 131. 

" Reason — 131. 
Alcohol Retards Psychic Development — in. 
Anger — Belongs to Red Cosmic Current — 125. 
" Crimes Caused by — 125. 

Deity Does Not Show— 257. 
Animal Forms — Instinct Helps to Improve and Preserve — 12T. 
Mental Origin of— 95. 

Seraphim and Cherubim Materialized — 63, 95, 
97, 98. 
" Kingdom — Creation of — 62 to 64, 98. 

Demand and Supply Used Unconsciously 
by— 183. 
" Evolved Through Re-embodiment of Life 

Principle — 98. 
Vibrations of — Higher Than Those of 
Vegetable Kingdom — 169. 
Ants, Consciousness of — 120, 121. 
Appendix, Vermiform — Use of — 104, 105. 

Cause of Its Degeneration — 103 to 105. 
Assyria — See Nineveh. 
Athletics — 105, 106, 108. 
Atom — Defined — 141, 142. 

2 8 7 



288 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

Atom — Demagnetization of — 212, 213. 

Form Depends on Vibration of — 168. 
Individual Center of Force — 142, 143. 
Magnetic Attraction Caused by Polarization of — 212. 
Motions of — 143, 224. 
Negative Side of — 212, 213. 
Positive Side of — 212, 213. 
Used in Creation of Form — 168. 
Visible to the Soul — 147. 
Attraction — Atoms Vibrating at Common Rate Cause — 168. 
Construction Depends on — 142. 
Evolution Depends on Repulsion and — 142, 193. 
" Law of— 68, 203, 210, 218. 

" " " Action on Half Souls — 37. 

" " in Parenthood— 68, 69. 
" " Sex Principle a Part of — 14. 
" " Success Caused by — 203. 
Magnetic — Caused by Polarization of Atoms — 212. 

Depends on Vibration — 143. 
Mental — 169, 170, 193 to 219. 

A Constructive Force — 193. 
" Vibration Cause of — 169, 170. 
Powers Manifest as — 142. 
Souls Influenced by Gravic — 256, 257, 262. 
Aura — Expansion of — 146. 

" Mental Creations Remain in — 218. 
Avatars— 93, 114, 285. 
Avitchi— See Hell. 

Baby, First Uses Forces Destructively — 159. 
Babylon — 29. 

Compared with Modern Cities — 25. 
" Description of — 25. 

Fall of— 26, 27. 
Polygamy in — 24. 
(f Religion of— 24, 25. 






Index. 289 

Babylon— Rise of— 22, 23. 

Sensuousness in — 23 to 25. 
Sexual Excesses in — 23, 24. 
Barrenness — Among Chinese — 85, 86. 

Causes Race Suicide — 84, 85. 
Curse of God — 50. 
Result of Law— 84. 
Baths, Cold, Dangerous — 106, 107, 241. 
Beings — Celestial — 89 to 98, 115, 148, 222. 

Knowledge Received Through Concentration on — 115. 
on Third Subjective Plane — 284, 285. 
Beltis, Temple of — 25. 
Eeverages, Proper Kind for Man — 238. 
Blue Cosmic Force — 160, 165. 

" Increases Mental Growth — 107, 109, 133. 

Mental Portion of Divine Mind— 165. 
" Necessary for Man — 102. 
Body — Care of — 236 to 242. 
" Destruction of — 158, 222. 
" Elimination of Poison from Mind and — 75. 
" First Men Had Powerful — 103. 
" Form of— 158, 159. 
" Formation of— 70, 73, 74, 159. 
" Generates Forces and Power — 156, 157. 
" Health of — Necessary Before Psychic Development — 

101, 103, III. 
" Influenced by Past Mistakes — 74. 
" Liberation From — 145. 

" Material Manifestation of Inner Man — 158, 159. 
" Mental Power Requires Strong Physical — 211. 
Preservation of After Death — 222. 
Psychic Development Demands Sound — 103. 
Renewal of— 158. 
" Sexual Excesses Ruin — 12, 13. 
" Sin Affects Formation of — 74. 



290 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

Body — Soul Leaving — 145. 

" Used as Long as Desired — 179. 
Breath of Life— 98. 
Brotherhood, Student of Silent — 178. 
Calamities Are Caused by Fear — 202, 203. 
Celestial Crematorium — 156. 

Celibacy — No Escape from Divine Law Through — 44. 
Ordinary Manifestations of — 42 to 45. 
True Principle of — 45. 
Center — In Growth of Form — 168, 169. 
of Consciousness, Origin of — 89. 
" " Force — 142. 

" Arousing of, in Next Cosmic Day — 144, 145. 
" " Formation of — 142, 149. 
" " Man Is Highest — 193. 

Origin of— 89. 
" " Reawakening of Powerful — 144, 145. 
Shape of— 158. 
Chaos, Celestial — 61, 62. 
Character Must Be Built on Chastity — 47. 
Chastity — Applicable to Both Sexes — 47. 

Character Must Be Built 011—47. 
Defined— 45, 46. 
Mental— 46, 47. 
" Physical — 46. 

" Value of— 47. 

Cherubim — See Seraphim and Cherubim. 
Children — Development of — 159, 160. 
Disappointments of — 80. 
Modesty Should Be Taught to— 75, 7&- 
Moulding of Minds of — 76. 
Presence of Deity Should Be Taught to — 76. 
Purity Should Be Taught to — Irrespective of Sex 

—79. 
Questions of — 79. 



Index. 291 

Children— Teaching of— 78 to 80. 

" Training of— 67, 75 to 80. 

Chinese— 85, 86. 

Sex Relationship Among— 85, 86. 
Unprogressiveness of — 85, 86. 
Christ — 250, 251. 

" Followers of, Healed Humanity — 250. 
Christianity, True — 250. 
Church — 128. 

" Christian — 250. 

" Creeds of — 129, 130, 253. 

Dogmas of— 129, 130, 253. 
" Dominion of — 128. 

Early, Fear Used by — 250, 251. 
Independent Moralists' Effect on — 130, 131. 
Mental and Christian Scientists' Effect on — 131. 
Revision of Creeds of — 130, 131. 
Withdrawal from — 128 to 130. 
Clairaudience — 101, 131. 

Acquirement of — 132, 133. 
" Denned — 132. 

Developed by Use of Cosmic Currents — 103. 
Not Dependent on Mesmerism — 132. 
Sound Mind and Body Required for — III. 
Clairvoyance — 101, 131. 

" , Acquirement of — 132, 133. 

" Denned — 131, 132. 

Developed by Use of Cosmic Currents — 103. 
Not Dependent on Mesmerism — 132. 
Sound Mind and Body Required for — ill. 
Spiritual Planes Open to — 136. 
Coercion, Deity Never Uses — 210. 
Cold, Demagnetization by — 241, 242. 
Comets as Destructive Force — 149, 150. 
" in Fourth Period — 61. 



292 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

Comets— Meeting Constructive Force — 149, 150. 
"Common Sense" by Paine — 254. 
Communal Marriage — 48. 
Concentration — Aid to Practice of — 109. 

Among Ninevites — 17. 

Cosmic Force Consciously Used Through — 160 

Defined — 161. 

Demand and Supply Aided by — 183, 184. 

Draws Object Thought of — 162. 

Examples of — 162 to 164. 

Exercises in — 161 to 166. 

How to Increase Power of — 162 to 166. 

Increases Mental and Physical Power — 160. 

Lack of — 160. 

Mental Power Gained by — 160, 165, 166, 185. 

Muscular Exercise by — 109. 

Particularity in — 211. 

Practice Increases Power of — 185 to 187. 

Psychic Development Aided by — 101, 109, 133. 

Result of Lack of — 160, 161. 

Rules to Increase — 162 to 166. 

Spiritual Power Gained by — 165, 166, 185. 

Successful Persons Use — 184. 
Condiments — 238. 
Confucius — 85. 
Conscience — Beliefs Regarding — 122, 123. 

Cause of Difference in — 127, 128. 

Disregard of — 172, 173. 

Effect of — 122. 

Evolution of Man Helped by — 128, 129. 

Growth of — 121 to 123. 

Instinct Mother of — 122, 123. 

Loss of — 127. 

Result of Instinct — 122, 123. 

Sheriff Not Actuated by — 126, 127. 



Index. 293 

Conscience — Sympathy Often Mistaken for — 123, 124. 
Used to Conquer Objective Mind — 123. 
" Voice of— 122 to 128. 

Consciousness — Desire Exists Only with — 119. 

Grows Out of Sub-Consciousness — 119, 120. 
" In Man, Animals and Plants — 118 to 121. 

" Instinct Born of — 121. 

Man Is Center of— 193. 
Mind Grows from — 120, 121. 
Origin of Center of — 89. 
" Swarm — 120, 121. 

Conservation of Force — 161, 203, 211 to 219, 235 to 239. 
Construction — Depends on Attraction — 142. 
Follows Destruction — 159. 
Harder Than Destruction — 101, 159. 
Mental Attraction Is Force for — 193. 
Of Worlds— 145 to 150. 
Optimism Is Force for — 193. 
Progression Is Force for — 193. 
Control of Environment — 131, 170, 171. 
Cosmic Currents — Blue — 102, 160, 165. 

Conscious Use of — 160. 
Green — 95, 102, 160, 171, 172. 
Orange— 94, 102, 159, 160, 171. 
Origin of — 94. 

Red— 95, 102, 125, 160, 171, 172, 257. 
Use of, in Psychic Development — 101, 103. 
Yellow— 102, 103, 165, 285. 
Cosmic Day — See Day, Cosmic. 
Cosmic Dust — 147, 148. 

Force — See Cosmic Currents. 
Creation — Among Ninevites — 17. 

By Deity— 7 to 9, 59 to 64. 
" Man— 97. 
" Planetary Spirits — 148 to 150. 



294 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

Creation — Mental, Aura Contains — 218. 

" Effect of Optimism on — 208, 209. 
" " Pessimism on — 209. 
Of Animals — 63. 
" Earth— 8, 59 to 61. 
" Form — 168, 169. 
" Living Creatures — 62. 
" Man— 63, 64. 
" Worlds — 145 to 150. 
Vibration Is Keynote of — 167, 193. 
Cremation Frees Soul from Body — 244. 
Crematorium, Celestial — 156. 
Crime Is Photographed on Mind — 125, 126. 
Criticism, Fear of — 197 to 199, 201. 
Cyclic Law — A Fundamental Principle — 234. 
" " Always Existed — 234. 

" Application of, to Man — 235 to 239. 
" Governs Flow of Magnetic Force — 225. 

Subjective Plane Is Governed by — 262. 
" Universal in Its Application — 224, 234. 
Damnation — Church Idea of — 250 to 253. 
Eternal — 250, 252, 253. 
Infant — 130, 251, 252. 
Used to Force Men to Worship — 250. 
Waning of Belief in — 254. 
Day, Cosmic — Birth of — 7. 

Fifth Period of— 62, 63. 
First Period of — 59. 
Fourth Period of— 61, 62. 

Negative Individuals Await Another — 215, 216. 
Same Length as Cosmic Night — 144. 
Second Period of — 59, 60, 90. 
Sixth Period of— 63, 93, 94, 105. 
Third Period of— 60, 61. 

Vibration Generated by Divine Will in Be- 
ginning of — 143. 



Index. 295 

Death — 221 to 248. 

" A Second Birth— 243. 

" A Transition — 179. 

" Beginning of, Is Vampirization — 224. 

" Cause of — 237 to 243. 

" Cremation Frees Soul from Body — 244. 

Denned by Occultist — 223. 
" Fear of, by Objective Mind — 221. 
" " Cause of — 221. 
" " How to Destroy — 221. 
" Prevention of — 224, 237 to 242. 
" Process of, Described — 243, 244. 
" Second — 245 to 248. 

Affects Most Objective Minds Deserted by 

Their Subjective — 246. 
Description of — 246 to 248. 
Final Result of— 248. 

Transgression, Conscious, Persistent and Un- 
ceasing, Cause of — 245. 
Soul After— 249. 

Theories About— 249 to 285. 
" Is Weakest Immediately After — 244. 
" Vampirization Is Beginning of — 224. 
Deities, Solar — Awakening of — 59. 

Deity Works Through— 64. 
" , " Origin of — 89. 
Deity — Activity Throughout — 32. 

Afflictions Should Not Be Blamed on— 74. 
" Always Pushes Onward — 12. 
" Animals Created by — 63. 

Anthropomorphic Idea of — 129, 253. 
" Christ Taught Loving — 250. 
" Creation by — 7 to 9, 59 to 64. 
" Demands Met by — 180, 210. 
" Existence of — 117, 118, 167. 



296 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

Deity— Expresses Through Man — 64. 
Karmic Debts Collected by — 72. 
Lessons Taught by — 14, 26, 81, 86. 
Living Creatures Created by — 62, 6s. 
Never Coerces — 210. 
Origin of All Things — 117, 167. 
Presence of — Should Be Taught Children — 76. 
Repudiation of — 252. 
Rests as Long as It Labors — 144. 
Souls Not Lost Through Vindictiveness of — 257. 
Suggestions by — 210. 

Works Through Individual Instruments — 64, 65, 93, 
209, 210. 
Demagnetization — Cause of — 224, 236 to 242. 

Death Is Complete — of Physical Body — 223. 
Disintegration Caused by — 223, 257. 
How Produced — 211 to 213. 
Of Earth — 225, 226. 
People Suffer from— 211 to 218. 
Prevention of — 224, 237, 238. 
Retarded by Embalming — 223. 
Demand and Supply, Law of — 66, 177. 

" Acceptance of— 182, 183. 
" " Concentration in — 183 to 186. 
" " Condition for Use of— 183 to 

192. 
" " Conscious Use of — 183. 
" " Karmic Law and — 179 to 192, 

211. 
" " Obstacles Result of— 187. 
" " Operating in Universe — 66. 
" " Optimism Assists Operation of 
— 208, 209. 
" Pessimism Retards Operation 
of— 209. 



Index. 297 

Demands Are Fulfilled — t8o, 210, 212. 
Depletion of Magnetism, Voluntary — 211. 
Desire — Growth of — 119 to 121. 

" In Animals and Plants — 118 to 121. 
" Intensification of — 119. 

Merges Into Will— 128, 136. 
" Of Disembodied Souls — 112. 
Destiny Controlled by Man — 179. 
Destruction Destroys Destructive Things — 251. 

Easier Than Construction — 101, 159. 
of Old Forms — 142, 157, 221, 286. 
of Worlds — 145, 150 to 156. 
Premature — Regretted — 158. 
Repulsion Cause of — 142. 
Development — See Kinds of, Also Growth. 
Devil of Ancient Theology— 130, 256. 

" Used to Frighten Men — 250. 
Diary of Advanced Occult Student, Quotations from — 145 to 

156, 227 to 234, 258 to 286. 
Dielectrics — 215. 
Discouragement — Cause of — 192. 

Knowledge Kills — 191. 
Repulsion Caused by — 190, 191. 
Disintegration Produced by Demagnetization — 223, 257. 
Dissipation — 236, 237. 
Divine Law — See Deity. 
Divorce — Not an Evil — 37, 38, 52 to "4. 

" Purpose of First — 10. 

Dust, Cosmic — 147, 148. 
Duty in Parenthood — 81 to 84, 89. 
" to Help Others— 88. 
" to Pay Parental Debts— 88. 
Dwellers on Threshold — 270. 
Dynamo, Celestial — 151, 152. 
Earth — See also World. 



298 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

Earth — Covered with Water — 8, 94. 
Creation of— 8, 59 to 61. 
Demagnetization of — 225, 226. 
Governed by Cyclic Law — 225. 
Interior of — 259 to 268. 
Magnetization of — 225. 
Requires Rest Eventually — 226. 
Sun Magnetizes — 225, 226, 227. 
Vampirization of — 225, 226. 
Eden, Abolition of the Garden of — 31. 
Ego — Reincarnation of Advanced — 72, 73. 

" Takes Full Possession of Body at Puberty — 76. 
Electricity as a Means of Recuperation — 239. 
Elliptical Motion in Expression of Force — 143, 224. 
Elohim — Creation by — 62 to 64. 

Creators of Subjective Mind — 95. 
Origin of— 89, 90. 
Quickening of — 61. 
Rest of— 7, 61. 
Embalming — 22s. 

Embryo, Formation of Human — 159. 
Energy — See Force. 
Entities Around Opium Den — 278, 279. 

Draw Magnetism from Psychics — 113, 114. 
Enjoy by Proxy — 58, 278. 
" Females Attract — 271. 
" Intoxicants Increase Power of — 273. 

Mental Suggestions by — 275, 276. 
" Seek Those in Mental Accord — 272, 273, 280. 
" Souls Controlled by — 113, 114. 
Environment, Control of — 131, 170, 171. 
Eskimo — 242. 

Ether, All Things Subjectively Repose in — 7. 
Evil, Darkness Created by Doers of — 272. 
" See Sin. 



Index. 299 

Evolution — As God's Will — 9. 

Attraction and Repulsion Necessary for — 142, 193. 
Critical Point in — 256. 
" Manifestation of — 118. 

" Moves the Universe — 118. 

Of Animal Man — 8, 9, 31, 160. 
Of Mankind Through Conscience — 128, 129. 
Protection Not Needed for — 202. 
Repulsion and Attraction Necessary for — 142, 193. 
Will Moves— 118. 
Exercise — Improper — 106, 108. 
" Proper — 106 to 109. 

Existence, Personal Not Dependent Upon Physical Form — 221. 
Expiation of Mistakes — 182. 
Expression of Power — 143. 
Ezekiel— 91, 92. 

Beings Seen by — 91, 92. 
Falsity, Fear and — Go Hand in Hand — 201. 
Fatalism — 179. 
Fate, Cause of — 175, 176. 
Fear — Artists Affected by — 199, 200. 
" Attribute of Objective Mind — 195, 199. 
Cause of Most Calamities — 202, 203. 
Dependent Upon Lower Emotions — 200. 
" Destruction of — 200. 
" Different Aspects of — 196 to 201. 
" Falsity Accompanies — 201. 
" Ignorance and — 201. 
" Man Influenced by — 250. 
Man Limited by — 196. 

Most Formidable Attribute of Objective Mind — 195. 
Must Be Conquered — 195. 

Of Criticism and Public Opinion — 197 to 199, 201. 
" Death, Cause of — 221. 

How to Destroy — 221. 



300 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation, 

Fear— Of Death, Objective Minds— 221. 

" Of Loss— 196. 

" Physical — 196. 

" Prevents Mental Poise and Individualization — 196. 

" Progressive Souls Have No — 201. 

" Retards Growth of Soul — 44, 196. 

" Thoughts and Freedom Limited by — 44. 
Females Attract Souls Ready for Reincarnation — 271. 
Fish, Origin of — 96, 97. 
Food — Kind to Avoid — 238. 
Force — See also Power. 

" Always Magnetic — 224. 

" Center of — 142. 

" " Atom Is— 142. 

" Awakening of in Next Cosmic Day — 144, 

145. 
" " Formation of — 142, 149. 
" " Man Is Highest— 193. 
" Shape of— 158. 
" Conservation of — 161, 203, 211 to 219, 235 to 239. 
" Cosmic — See Particular Color. 
" Expression of — 224. 
" Focusing of — 141 to 166. 

Generation of — 156, 157, 160, 161, 224. 
Magnetic, Governed by Cyclic Law — 225, 235 to 239. 
Waste of — 236 to 239. 
" Neither Good nor Evil — 157. 

Of Attraction Depends on Vibration of Atoms — 168. 
" Return of to Emanating Centers — 148. 
" Strengthening of — 161,, 169. 
Foreordination — 130, 254. 
Form — Creation of — 168. 

" Depends on Vibration — 167, 168. 

Destruction of Old — 142, 157, 221, 286. 
Fowl, Origin of— 97. 



Index. 301 

Freedom — Limited by Fear — 44. 

Of Thought and Speech — 253, 254. 
" Soul — 145. 

Future State Depends Upon Condition on Material Plane — 256. 
Generative Organs — See Sex Organs. 
Generation of Power — 143, 158. 
Genesis — Incorrect Order of Creation in — 89. 

Referred to— 7 to 10, 50, 59 to 64, 94, 95. 
Gestation — See Procreation. 
Gladstone — 127, 128. 
God — See Deity. 
Good — Done for Sake of — 129, 136. 

" Necessary Condition for Spirituality — 136. 
Gravic Attraction on Souls — 256, 257, 262. 
Gravity, Law of, Referred to — 218. 
Green Cosmic Force — 102, 160. 

" Use of Produces Individualization — 95, 
172. 
Use of by Objective Mind— 171, 172. 
Group, Stellar — See Stellar Group. 
Growth — Happiness Attained Through Spiritual — 134. 

Impossible Previous to Incarnation — 31. 
Half Souls — Action of Law of Attraction on — 37. 

" Attempt to Save Each Other from Hell — 247. 
"■ Each Contains Picture of Other — 32, 33. 
" Happiness Attained by — 32. 
" Reincarnation of — 72. 

Seeking Each Other — 32 to 34. 
" Vibrate the Same — 33. 
Hangings, Emotions Cause — 125, 126. 
Happiness — Attained Through Spiritual Growth — 134. 

When Half Souls Find Each Other— 32. 
Defined — 42. 

Excarnated Soul Deprived of by Mourning — 243. 
Involves Soul's Independence of Others — 196. 



302 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

Happiness — Negative — of Subjective Mind — 10, 31, 170, 194, 195. 
Poise Necessary for — 195. 
Soul Must Have— When Alone— 196, 197. 
The Thing Most Desired— 32. 
Harmony in the Universe — 62. 
Heaven, Separated from the Manifested — 60. 
Heavenly Guides — 113. 
Hell — Appearance of Souls in — 260 to 269. 
Avitchi — 245, 247, 256 to 270. 

Described — 246, 247, 258 to 269. 
Home for Lost Souls — 245, 256. 
Horrors of— 247, 258 to 269. 
Lowest Condition of Lost Souls — 245, 247, 256. 
Souls Reaching Second Subjective Plane Sel- 
dom Fall — 281. 
Souls Saved from — 247, 248. 
Vampirization of Inexperienced Souls in — 259. 
Cause of a Soul's Entrance Into — 245. 
Church Idea of — 250 to 255. 
Conception of Early Fathers — 251. 
Diametrically Opposed to Nirvana — 245. 
Difficulty of Saving a Soul from — 247. 
Fear of — 250, 251, 255, 269. 
Origin of Bible Legend — 265 to 268. 
Used to Force Men to Worship — 250, 251, 269. 
Universalist's Idea of — 252. 
Waning of Belief in — 254. 
Heredity — 70, 73, 74. 

Holiness, Halo of, Around Teachers — 252. 
Hymen, Physical Expression of Purity — 76, 77. 
Ignorance and Fear — 201. 
Improvement Needed Every Moment — 74. 
Immortality — 221, 222. 
Incarnation, Reason for — 32, 71, 74, 81. 
Independent Sex Life — 57. 



Index. 303 

Independent Sex Life — Psychic Dangers of — 58. 
Indestructibility of Soul — 196, 201, 249. 
Indigestion — 189. 
Indignation, Effect of — 184. 
Individualization — Fear Prevents — 196. 

Goal of Every Soul — 196. 
Green Cosmic Force Produces — 95, 172. 
Indolence, Voluptuousness Caused by — 20. 
Infant Damnation — 130, 250, 251. 
Infidels, One Cause of — 252. 
Ingersoll, Robert G. — 254. 
Insanity— 69, 70, 113, 114, 116. 

Caused by Religious Beliefs — 252. 
Insects, Origin of — 97. 
Instinct — 118. 

" Birth of — 121. 

Merges Into Intuition — 128. 
Mother of Conscience — 122, 123. 
" Use of— 121. 

Intoxicants — Brain Affected by — 273. 

Control of Entities Affected by — 273. 
Entities Enjoy by Proxy — 278. 
Retard Psychic Development — ill. 
Intuition — 118. 

, Instinct Merges Into — 128. 
Necessary for Spirituality — 136. 
Suggestions of Subjective Mind — 207. 
Java, Island of, Burning Pool Under — 267. 
Jesus — His Body Used by an Exalted Being — 91. 
Jonah Warns Nineveh — 20, 21. 
Justice, Law of — Rules the World — 55. 
Karma, Debts of — Accumulation of — 173 to 189. 

" Affect Future Births— 208, 209. 
" " Collected — 72, 176, 177. 
" " Example of — 174, 175 to 189. 



304 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

Karma, Debts of — Exhaustion of — 182, 183. 

" " Prevent Seeing Truth — 182. 
" Result of— 173, 174 to 189. 
Law of, and Demand and Supply — 174 to 192, 211. 
Mock Marriage a Result of — 55, 56. 
Objective Mind Creates Bad — 208. 
Optimist Ceases to Create Bad — 208. 
Parenthood Influenced by — 71 to 74. 
Reincarnation Prevented by — 262. 
Resulting from Hate — 262. 
Keynote of Creation, Vibration Is — 167, 193. 
Kismet — 179. 

Knowledge Received Through Meditation and Concentration 
Upon Great Consciousness and the Celestial Beings — 115. 
Labor — Proper Amount Per Day — 238. 
Law — Causes Certain Incarnations — 71, 74, 81. 
Cyclic — 224, 225, 234 to 249, 262. 

" Readjustment on Subjective Plane Under — 262. 
Divine — See Deity, 
of Attraction— 68, 210, 218. 

Action on Half Souls— 37. 
Demand and Supply — 66, 84, 177, 179 to 192, 208, 209, 
211. 
" Justice Rules the World — 55. 
" Repulsion, Action on Half Souls — 37. 
" Success — 2031 to 219. 
Religious Reaction in Accord with — 252. 
Transgressions Against the — 84, 255. 
Legends Founded on Fragments of Truth — 265. 
Lessons Taught by Divine Law — 14, 26, 81, 86. 
Let There Be Light — 143. 
Life, Primary Object in — 80. 
Light — Demand for — 59. 

" Souls Possess Power to Create — 260. 
Liver, Torpid — 189. 



Index. 305 

Love — Attractive Force — 243. 

" Doctrine of, Taught by Christ — 250. 
Luck, Belief in— 174, 175. 
Macrocosm — 93, 235. 
Magnetism — Conservation of — 235 to 239. 

Disembodied Entities Draw — from Psychic — 113, 

114. 
Ebbing and Flowing of — 225, 235, 236. 
Exchange of — 240. 

Lost by Worlds Not Wholly Regained — 227. 
Sun Gives — to Earth — 225, 226, 227. 
Vampirization of— 211 to 218. 
Voluntary Depletion of — 211. 
Majority, Race Has Reached Its — 255. 
Malignant Creatures Offsprings of Men's Minds — 97. 
Man — Advanced — 66. 
" Awakening of — 65. 
" Belongs to Constructive or Destructive Side of Life — 

171. 
" Building Body of — 69. 
" Center for Generation of Power — 165, 193. 
" Condition of — Before Incarnating in Animal Forms — 

3i, 95- 

" Creation of — 63, 64, 98. 

" Deity Expresses Through — 64, 65. 

" Destiny Controlled by — 179. 

" Development of — 8, 9, 31, 160. 

" Dominion of — 64. 

" Evolution of — 8, 9, 31, 128, 160. 

" Fall of— 11, 12. 

" Fear Influences — More Than Love — 250, 251. 

" Forgot His Origin After Incarnation — 32. 

" Governed by Cyclic Law — 235 to 239. 

" Highest Center of Force on This Planet — 193. 

" Is Small World— 218. 



306 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

Man — Lower Kingdoms Raised by — 102. 
" Magnetism of — 225, 235, 236, 239. 
" Rest Periods Provided for — 224, 227. 

Seraphim and Cherubim Formed Bodies of — 95, 96. 
" Strong Incarnate First — 12, 13. 
" Subjective Mind Incarnating in — 9. 
Manifestation, Vibration Necessary for — 167. 
Marconi — no. 
Marriage — 31 to 58. 

By Civil Contract— 52, 53, 54, 55. 

Communal — 48. 

Defined — 34. 

Evolution Through — 53 to 56. 

Of Convenience — 34, 35. 

Disappearance of — 36, 37. 
How to Free One's Self from — 56. 
Reason for— 35, 55. 
Mistakes of the Church about — 52. 
Mock— 34 to 39, 53, 54, 55, 56. 
Monogamy — 5 1 . 
Polyandry — 49. 
Polygamy— 49 to 51. 
Ridicule of— 38. 
True— 34, 51, 52, 54. 
Master of Occultism — 145. 
Materialism, One Cause of Belief in — 252. 
Matter, Part of Deity— 60. 
Matthew (quoted) — 144. 

Meditation. "Used in Psychic Development — 101. 
Mental Attraction — 169, 170, 193. 

" Development Necessary for Spirituality — 136, 137. 
" Likes and Dislikes — 169, 170. 
" Power Gained Through Concentration — 160. 
" Repulsion — 169. 
Microcosm — 93, 235. 



Index. 



307 



Middle Class, Mental Condition of — 280. 
Mind, Consciousness Develops into — 120, 121. 
Crime Photographed by — 125, 126. 

Draws to Itself Whatever Persistently Dwells On— 203, 
Elimination of Sin from — 75. 
Magnetic Attraction of — 203, 219. 
Objective, Abandoned by Subjective — 127. 

Bad Karma Created by — 208. 

Causes Sorrow and Disharmony — 170. 

Conscience Used to Conquer — 123. 

Conscious Effort to Control — 178. 

Created by Seraphim and Cherubim — 98. 

Death Feared by — 221. 
" Second — 245 to 248. 

Desire of — 118. 

Development of — in, 118 to 121, 194. 

Domination by — 171. 

Endowed with Subjective — 121, 170. 

Evolution of — 121. 

Fear is Attribute of — 195, 199, 221. 

Grows When Body is Idle — 280. 

Healthy, Necessary for Psychic Development 
— in. 

Holds Subjective kind t Earth — 194. 

Life to — 221, 222. 

Must be Raised for Progress — 194. 

Origin of — 98. 

Pessimism Caused by — 207. 

Repellent to Aids in Evolution — 170. 

Result of Control by — 274. 

Struggle for Supremacy — 99. 

Subjective Mind Ruling — 170, 171. 

Superstitions of — 178. 

Vibrates Lower than Subjective — 170, 194. 
Part of Deity — 60. 



308 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

Mind — Subjective — See also Soul. 

Abandonment of Man by — 127. 

Blissful Existence of — 9, 10, 31, 170, 194, 

195. 

Color is Blue— 102. 

Conscience Used by, to Conquer Objective 
Mind — 123, 172, 173. 

Created by Elohim — 95. 

Creation of— 64, 95. 

Deity Expresses Through — 64, 65. 
" Division of — 10. 

Earth Bound by Objective Mind— 194. 

Endowing Objective Mind — 121, 170. 

Experience of — 12, 127, 170. 

Incarnating in Man — 9, 64, 65, 170. 

Nature of — 9, 10, 12, 194, 195. 

Negative Happiness of — 10, 31, 170, 194, 195. 

Negative Side of — 9, 10. 
" Origin of — 95, 102. 

Poise Must be Acquired by — 195. 

Positive Side of — 9, 10, 12. 

Preparation for— 8. 

Progression of — 195. 

Rarely Dies— 246. 

Realm of Before Coming to this Planet — 95. 

Retrogression of — 11, 12. 
" " Ruling Objective Mind — 170, 171. 

Sire of Conscience — 123. 

Struggle for Supremacy — 99. 
" " Vibrates Higher than Earth — 194. 

" Objective Mind— 170, 
194. 
" " War of — 10, 11. 

Will of— 118. 

Wishes Granted— 191. 



Index. 309 

Minerals, Repositories for Magnetic Force — 227. 
Miscarriage Cannot Prevent Operation of Law — 71. 
Mistakes, Body Influenced by Past — 74. 

Expiation of — 182. 
Modesty Does Not Indicate Weakness — 77. 

First Lesson that Should be Taught — 75. 
" Taught by Example — 78, 79. 
Mohammedan — 179. 

" Kismet of — 179. 

Money, Demand for — 192. 
Moralist, Independent — 129, 130. 

Effect on Church — 130, 131. 
Moses, Ten Commandments Given to — 50. 
Motherhood — See Parenthood. 
Motion, Cessation of — 143, 144. 

Elliptical Necessary for Expression of Power — 143, 

224. 
Rotary Necessary for Generation of Power — 143, 158, 
224. 
Mourning, Excamated Soul Deprived of Happiness by — 243. 
Music of the Spheres — 131, 149. 

On Second Subjective Plane — 283. 
Name, Soul — 201, 202. 
Navel, a Center — 161. 
Nebuchadnezzar — 26. 
Negative Side to Everything — 212, 213. 
Negativeness — 9, 10, 31, 46, 134 to 136, 170, 194, 195, 239. 
Night, Cosmic, Inaction During — 61. 

Manner of its Coming — 144. 
" Same Length as Cosmic Day — 144. 
Nineveh — 17, 29. 

" Decline of — 20. 

Description of — 17 to 19. 
Destruction of — 22. 
Jonah Warns — 20, 21. 



310 Prom Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

Nineveh— Repentance of— 21. 
" Sensuousness in — 19. 

Sexual Excesses in — 20. 
Nirvana — 138, 139, 245, 284, 285. 
Objective Mind — See Mind. 
Obsession — 113, 114. 

During Gestation — 69, 70. 
Occult, Quotations from Diary of Advanced Student — 145 to 
156, 227 to 234, 258 to 286. 
Truths Given Only to Those Prepared — 66, 78. 
Occultism, Eastern School of — 179. 
Occultists, High Priests Were — 51. 
Omnipotence, Attribute of Spirituality — 137. 

Concentration Necessary for — 138. 
" Demand for — 133, 165. 

" Receiving of — 136, 146, 166. 

Unconscious Demand for — 165. 
Omnipresence, Attribute of Spirituality — 137 to 139. 

Western Occultists do not Demand — 138. 
Omniscience, Attribute of Spirituality — 137. 

Concentration Necessary for — 137. 
" Demand for — 133, 165. 

Receiving of— 136, 146, 166. 
Unconscious Demand for — 165. 
Opium Den, Subjective Plane Around — 278, 279. 
Optimism, Constructive Force — 193. 

Demand and Supply Helped by — 208, 209. 
Karmic Obstacles Not Created by — 208. 
" Result of — 205 to 209. 

Success Brought by — 204, 205. 
Versus Pessimism — 204 to 209. 
Orange Life Force — 102, 159, 160. 

First Attracted by Earth— 94, 95. 
Objective Mind Uses— 171. 
" " Supplies Physical Strength — 171. 
Used in Formation of Body — 159. 






Index. 311 

Order, Celestial — 62. 
Organs, Sex — See Sex. 
Paine, Thomas — 131, 254. 
Parenthood— 59 to 88. 

A Sacred Privilege — 16, 66, 67. 
And Inheritance — 70, 73, 74. 
Body Moulded in — 70, 73, 74. 
Compulsory — 71, 72. 
Divine — 64. 

" Beginning of— 59. 
Duty of— 81 to 84, 88. 
Ego Around Mother Before Re-incarnation — 68, 

69, 70. 
Example in — to Children — 78, 79. 
Exercise of— 65, 66, 87. 
Karmic Law in — 71 to 74. 
Law of Attraction in — 68, 69. 
" Miscarriage in — 71, 72. 

Neglect of Child in — 75. 
Obsession During — 69, 70. 
Of Plants— 119. 
Religious Orders and — 87. 
Sins of Omission and Commission in — 75. 
" Slavery in — 80 to 88. 

Training of Children in — 67, 75 to 80. 
Transgression of Law in — 84. 
Passion — See Sexual Passion. 
Patriotism, an Emotion — 124. 
Peace, be Still— 143. 
Pepper — 238. 

Personal Existence not Dependent on Physical Form — 221. 
Pessimism, a Destructive Force — 188 to 190, 193. 
Hates Optimism — 204. 
In Hell— 247. 
Objective Mind Causes — 207. 



312 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

Pessimism, Repulsion Caused by — 188 to 190. 

Retards "Demand and Supply" — 209. 
Versus Optimism — 204 to 209. 
Physical Development, Cold Baths Dangerous in — 106, 107. 

Lifting Heavy Weights Dangerous- 

107, 108. 
Mental Concentration in — 109. 
Morning Exercise for — 107. 
Short Life of Athletes— 108. 
Tendency to Overdo — 106. 
" Form is Not Personal Existence — 221. 
Pineal Gland, Cause of Degeneration of — 103, 104. 

" " Use of— 103, 104. 

Plants, Growth of — 118 to 121. 
" Paternal Mission in — 119. 
" Sub-Conscious Desire in — 118 to 121. 
Pleasure is Not Happiness — 42. 
Poise, Mental, Fear Prevents — 196, 269. 
" Happiness Requires — 195. 
" " How to Gain — 202. 

" Increases Individuality — 209. 
" Necessary for Progression — 195. 
" Necessary to Help Others — 275. 
" Optimist Has — 204, 209. 
" Perfect Must be Acquired — 195. 

Subjective Plane Requires — 275, 283. 
Polarization of Atoms Causes Magnetic Attraction — 212. 

Operates on all Planes — 212. 
Polyandry — 49. 
Polygamy — 49 to 51 

Poor, Mental Condition Around the — 279, 280. 
Positive Side to Everything — 212, 213. 
Poverty — 179. 

Demonstrating Over — 181. 

Result of Previous Demands — 180. 






Index, 



313 



Power — See also Force. 

Cannot of Itself be Evil — 157. 
Expression of — 143. 
Generation of — 143. 
Manifests in Everything — 142. 
Mental— 160. 

Operates Through all Centers — 156, 157. 
Strong Physical Body Required for Mental — 21: 
Primordal Condition — 144. 
Procreation — 65. 

Body Moulded During — 73. 
Obsession During — 69, 70. 
Process of— 68 to 73. 
Purpose of Sex Organs is — 12, 15, 16. 
Red Cosmic Current Induces — 95. 
Progression, Constructive Force of — 193. 

Mental Poise Necessary for — 195. 
Prostitution of Generative Organs — 15, 16, 39 to 42. 
Psychic Development, Alcohol Affects — in. 

Concentration Aids — 101, 109. 
How to Develop Psychic Centers- 
no. 



109, 



Imprudent, Consequence — 101, in to 

114. 
Imprudent Cause of Disrepute — in. 
Kinds of — 101, 112. 
Occultism Teaches Independent — 112. 
Prudent — 101, 102, 109, in, 112, 131, 132. 
Soul Growth — 100. 

Sound Body Necessary for — 103, in. 
Through Spiritual Developing Circles — 

112. 
Through Yoga Practices — 112 to 116. 
Tobacco Affects — in. 



314 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

Psychism, Attribute of Soul — ioo. 

Cause of Disrepute of — in. 
Defined — 99, 100. 
Psychic Plane — See Subjective Plane. 
Psychics, Entities Draw Magnetism of — 113, 114. 
Puberty, Ego Takes Possession of Body at — 76. 
Public Opinion, Fear of — 197 to 199, 201. 
Punishment, Belief in Future — 253. 
Future, 255 to 269. 
Result of No Belief in Future— 255. 
Purgatory — 281, 285. 

See First Subjective Plane, 270 to 286. 
Purity, Lasting Effect of — 77. 
Race, Its Majority Has Been Reached — 255. 

" Suicide of — 84 to 86. 
Reaction, Religious — 253. 
Red Cosmic Current — 58, 102, 160. 

" Anger Belongs to — 125. 

Contains Undeveloped Disembodied 

Souls— 58. 
Disintegrates Lost Souls — 257, 265, 266. 
Emotions Drawn from — 171, 172. 
Objective Mind Uses — 171, 172. 
Passions Drawn from — 171, 172, 266. 

Sexual Belongs to— 125. 
Procreation Induced by — 95. 
Vampirizes Lost Souls — 257. 
Repulsion, Between Atoms Vibrating at Different Rates — 168, 
169, 170. 
Destruction Depends on — 142. 
Discouragement Causes — 190, 191. 
Evolution Depends Upon Attraction and — 142, 193. 
Law of, Action on Half Soul — 37. 
" Mental — 167 to 192. 

" " Cause of — 169 to 192. 



Index. 315 

Repulsion, Mental— Difference in Vibration Cause of— 169, 170. 
Pessimism Causes — 188 to 190. 
Power Manifests as — 142. 
Rest, Necessary for Earth Eventually — 226. 
" Man— 238. 
Periods of Provided by Divine Law — 227. 
" Description of — 227 to 234. 
Revelations (quoted) — 155. 
Rich, Mental Condition Around — 279, 28c. 
Ridicule of Marriage — 38. 
"Rights of Man/' Paine's — 254. 
Romans — 27 to 29. 

" Babylonians and — 28. 

Compared with Men To-day — 28, 25. 
Sensuousness Among — 28. 
Rotary Motion in Generation of Force — 143, 158, 224. 
Saracus, King of Nineveh — 22. 
Saul — 91. 
Saviours — 285. 

Scientific Men, Knowledge of — 257. 
Scientists, Mental and Christian — 131. 
Seas Magnetized the Earth — 8. 
Second Death — See Death. 
Seer— 68. 

Seraphim and Cherubim, Demonstration of Vegetable and Ani- 
mal Forms, 63, 95 to 97. 
" Description of — 91, 92. 

Half Souls of Each Other— 96. 
" Nature of — 92, 93. 
" Origin of — 90. 
Sex, Chinese, Relationship of, Among — 85, 86. 
" Excesses, Animals Do Not Commit — 14. 

Diminution of Physique Caused by — 103, 104. 
Effect of— 12 to 16. 
In Nineveh — 20. 



316 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

Sex, Excesses, Psychic Centers Diminished by — 104, 105. 
Punishment for — 16, 17. 
Independent, Life — 57, 58. 
Love and — 23. 
Organs, Abuse of — 16, 75. 
" Action of — 15. 
" Prostitution of — 15, 16, 39 to 42. 
" Purpose of — 12, 15, 16. 
Origin of — 10. 

Principle is Law of Attraction and Repulsion — 14. 
Purity Should be Taught Boys and Girls — 76, 77. 
Relation of — 14, 15, 26, 29. 

" " Foundation for all Mankind— 29. 
Souls are Without — 77. 
Union of — 15, 16. 
Virtue in Either — 16, 17. 
Sexual Passion, Belongs to Red Current — 125. 
Causes Crimes — 125. 
Physical Repression of — 44, 45. 
Sheriff, Motive Actuating — 126, 127. 
Shrub, Sub-consciousness of — 120, 121. 
Sin, Activity Great Protection Against — 280. 
Belief in the Forgiveness of — 16. 
Body Influenced by — 74. 
In Parenthood — 75. 
Original — 12. 

Souls Destroyed by Own — 257, 269. 
Slavery, Evil Effect of— 80 to 83, 86 to 88. 

Parental— 80 to 88. 
Sleep, after Using Cosmic Forces — 133. 
" Generates Greatest Amount of Force — 224, 236. 
" Necessary to Prevent Demagnetization or Death— 224. 
" Time Required for — 224, 236 to 239. 
" Vampirization During — 240. 
Societies, Ethical — 129. 



Index. 317 

Sodom and Gomorrah — 27. 

Solar Deities — See Deities. 

Solomon — 47, 48. 

Sons of God — See Mind Subjective and Soul. 

Sorrow, Caused by Objective Mind — 170. 

Soul — See also Mind, Subjective. 

Advanced Seek the Truth — 128, 258. 

After Death — 249. 

Theories About — 249 to 286. 

At Place Where it Belongs — 189. 

Attraction, Gravic, on — 256, 257, 262. 

Attracts Like Disembodied Souls — 58, 272 to 274, 280. 

Avitchi is Home for Lost — 245, 256. 

Cannot be Helped Until Ready — 274. 

Composition of — 196. 

Development of is Object of Life — 80. 

Difficult to Save from Hell — 247, 248. 

Disembodied, Control by — of Embodied Soul — 113, 114. 
Desires of — 112. 

Distinction from Spirit — 101. 

Division of the — 10. 

Fear Does Not Affect Progressive — 201. 

Form of — 64, 67. 

Freedom of — 145. 

Indestructible — 196, 201, 202, 249. 

Individualization is Goal of — 196. 

Influence Each Other — 29, 30. 

Leaving Body — 145. 

Lost, Abode of — 256 to 269. 
" Condition of — 256 to 269. 
" Result of Our Sinning — 257, 269. 

Mourning Prevents Happiness for — 243. 

Must Learn to be Happy When Alone — 196, 197. 

Name — 201, 202. 

No Right to Save, Against Its Will— 248. 



318 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

Soul — Nothing Hidden from Liberated — 146, 147. 
" Pure, Experience of — 17. 
" Question for Each — 30. 
" Reabsorption of — 190. 

Reaches Spiritual Plane of Development — 101. 
Retarding Evolution of — 82. 
Reunited to Half Soul— 282, 283. 
" Saving Lost — From Hell — 247, 248. 

Second Death of — 245 to 248. 
" Sexless — 77. 
" Squirrel — 97, 98. 

Tree— 97, 98. 
" War of — 10, 11. 
" Will Become What Desires — 189, 190. 

" No Salvation of Soul Against — 248. 
Spanish Inquisition, Members of — 261, 262. 
Speech Confined to Human Beings — 136, 137. 
Spirit, Distinction of from Soul — 101. 
Spirits, Planetary — 148. 

Creation by— 148 to 150. 
Rest of— 7- 
Spiritualists — 101. 

Method of Psychic Development by — 112. 
Misuse of Name of — 112. 
Spirituality, Awakening of Intuition Necessary for — 136. 
Cause of Happiness — 134. 
Control of Environment Necessary for — 131. 
" Defined— 134 to 137. 

Happiness Attained Through — 134. 
Mental Development Necessary for — 136, 137. 
Necessary Condition for — 134. 
Negativeness not — 134 to 136. 
Omnipotence an Attribute of — 137. 
" Omnipresence " " — 137. 

" Omniscience " " — 137. 



Index. 319 

Spirituality, True — 134 to 136. 

Will Absorbs Desire in — 136. 
Stagnation Not Permitted to Exist — 32. 
Stellar Group, Description of — 227 to 229. 
Sub-Consciousness Develops into Consciousness — 119, 120. 

In Plants — 118 to 121. 
Subjective Mind — See Mind, Subjective — Also Soul. 
Subjective Plane, Cyclic Law Governs Readjustment on — 262. 
Disembodied Souls Inhabit — 112. 
" Existence on — 256 to 286. 
" " First — 112, 261, 269 to 280. 

" Interpenetrates Material Plane — 112. 
" " Ignorance of — 257. 

" " Inhabitants of — 112, 270 to 286. 

" Second— 281 to 284. 
" " For Progressive Souls — 281. 

Music on— 283. 
Reality of— 282. 
" " Shadows on — 272. 

Third— 284, 285. 
" " Beings on — 284. 

" " Music on — 284. 

Success, Concentration Aids — 211. 

" Conservation of Energy Necessary for — 203, 211 to 

■ 219. 
" Elements Necessary for — 203 to 219. 

Law of— 203 to 219. 
" Mental Attraction and — 204. 
" Mode of Mind in — 203, 204 to 211. 
" Particularity in — 211. 
" Optimism Brings — 204, 205. 
" Pessimism Retards — 204, 205. 
" Specific Demands — 203. 
Suggestions, Entities Make Mental— 275, 276, 279. 
Good Mental— 276, 277, 279. 



320 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

Superstitions of Objective Mind — 178, 179. 

Suprarenal Bodies, Cause of Degeneration of — 103 to 105. 

" Use of— 105. 
Suns, Centers of Systems — 62. 
" Description of — 228. 
" Magnetize Their Worlds — 225. 
Period of Rest Provided for — 227. 
Sympathy, an Emotion — 123, 124. 
Causes Crimes — 125. 
" Mistakes— 124. 
" War— 124. 
Control of— 124, 273 to 275. 
Judgment Swept Aside by — 123, 124. 
Mistaken for Conscience — 123. 
Reason Swept Aside by — 123, 124. 
Teachers, Appear to Mankind When Truth is Desired — 253. 
Of Occult Truths— 66. 
Wore Cowls and Skirts — 252. 
Ten Commandments, First Check on Polygamy — 50. 
Thought, Elimination of Poisonous — 75. 
Freedom of — 253, 254, 286. 
Limited by Fear — 44. 
Magnetic Connection of — 162. 
Threshold, Dwellers on — 270. 
Tobacco, Psychic Development Retarded by — in. 
Tolstoi— 127, 128. 
Transgressions, Against Divine Law — 255. 

No Escape from Result of — 256. 
Second Death Caused by Conscious — 245. 
Truth, Advanced Souls Wish to Know — 258. 
" Cannot be Destroyed — 202. 
" Foundation for Occult Teachings — 78. 
" Humanity, Mass of, Cannot Receive Higher Truths — 

178. 
" Karmic Debts Obscure the — 182. 



Index. 321 



Truth, Mankind Wishing to Know— 253. 
Universalist — 252. 

Universe, Reduced to Primordial Substance — 144. 
Uranus, Inhabitants of Live Longer — 235. 

Yearly Cycle upon — 235. 
Vampirization — 211 to 218. 

Beginning of Death — 224. 

By the Elements of Nature — 241. 

Cold Produces — 241, 242. 

Cyclic Law and — 225. 

Demagnetization Produced by — 211, 212, 213. 

In Married Life — 216 to 218. 

Individuals Exist by — 213 to 218. 

Characteristics of — 214, 215. 
Lost Soul Disintegrated by Red Cosmic Force 

by— 257. 
Next Life Affected by — 212. 
Of Earth, 225, 226. 

Of Man by Another — 213 to 218, 239, 240. 
Sleep and — 240. 
Vibration Affected by — 212. 
Vanity Stimulates Some Artists — 200. 

Vegetable Forms, Materialized by Seraphim and Cherubim — 
95, 96. 
" • " Mental Origin of — 95. 
Vermiform Appendix — 103 to 105. 
Vibrations, Attraction Caused by — 168. 
Cause of— 118, 143, 167. 
Cessation of — 143. 
Creator of Force — 167. 
Different Rates of — 60, 182. 
Evil — 272. 

Form Depends upon — 167, 168. 
Generated by Divine Will — 143, 167. 
Keynote of Creation — 167, 193. 



322 From Incarnation to Re-Incarnation. 

Vibrations, Law of — 169, 199. 

Motion Due to — 143. 
Necessary for Manifestation — 167. 
Neither Good nor Evil — 157. 
Of Individual Souls — 64. 
On Mental Plane— 169, 170. 
Origin of — 143. 
Repulsion Caused by — 168. 
Vampirization Affects — 212. 
Virtue, Required to Know Highest Occult Truths— 78. 

Shines in Manhood as Brightly as in Womanhood — ; 
Vive Kananda Swami — 116. 
Voice of Conscience — 122 to 127. 
Voluptuousness, Indolence Causes — 20. 
Voodoo Sorceress — 263 to 265. 
Vortex Draws to Itself — 148. 
War, Celestial— 155, 156. 

" Of Soul— io, 11. 
Will, Desire Merges into — 128, 136. 
" Divine — See also Deity. 

Cause of Vibration— 1 18, 143, 167. 
Existed Before Motion — 167. 
" Force that Moves Evolution — 118. 
" Free — 10, 210, 248. 

" No Right to Save a Soul Against its — 248. 
Wise Men of Ancient Times Taught Monogamy — 51. 
Wish, Every, is Granted Sometime — 191. 
Witch of Endor — 134. 
Work — See Labor. 
World — See also Earth. 

" Creation of — 7, 8, 59 to 61, 145 to 150. 

" Demagnetized Going Away from Sun — 225. 

" Description of, Entering Period of Rest — 229 to 234. 

" Destruction of — 145, 150 to 156. 

" Difference in Length of Cyclic Periods — 235. 

" Life Forces Leaving — 153. 



Index. 323 

World — Magnetized Going Toward Sun — 225. 

" Periods of Rest Provided for — 227. 

" Seven Great Periods of Activity and Inactivity — 227. 

" Under, Description of— 258 to 269. 

Yellow Cosmic Force, Absorption into — 285. 

" Increases Spiritual Force — 107. 
Psychic Development by — : iss. 
" Spiritual Portion of Divine Mind— 165. 
When Brought to Earth— 102, 103. 
Yoga, Dangers of — 115, 116. 
" Degeneration of — 114, 115. 
" First Used by Avatars — 114. 
" Method of Psychic Development — 112 to 116. 
" Used on Atlantis — 114. 



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